Top Chinese and U.S. officials will meet in Alaska on Friday, with a Chinese delegation arriving in Anchorage, Alaska’s largest city, early Thursday morning local Time. Regarding concerns about whether Biden held video talks with Xi in April, U.S. White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Thursday that “there are no such discussions at this time.”
A Chinese delegation led by Yang Jiechi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and director of the Central Foreign Affairs Office, and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi reportedly arrived in Anchorage, Alaska’s largest city, early Thursday morning local time to prepare for a two-day high-level U.S.-China strategic dialogue and meet with the U.S. delegation led by Secretary of State Blinken and National Security Adviser Sullivan.
Central News Agency reported that for the April video talks that Beijing hopes to facilitate between U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping, U.S. White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Thursday that there are no such discussions. She also reiterated that the U.S. side will talk about human rights, Hong Kong and regional military tensions, among other topics.
The Wall Street Journal previously reported, citing sources familiar with the matter, that Beijing would use the high-level U.S.-China diplomatic talks to facilitate a video summit between Biden and Xi on the occasion of a global conference on climate change to be held on World Earth Day, April 22.
Asked about this at a regular press conference Thursday, Psaki said the climate summit is just over a month away and more events are expected to be held with many participants, but bilateral meetings are not currently under discussion. She also wouldn’t say much about whether Biden’s bilateral meeting with Xi would be pre-conditioned.
China’s Foreign Ministry, when asked about the matter, also said that the topic of a possible meeting between Xi and Biden “is not on the agenda of the high-level U.S.-China talks in Alaska.
The U.S.-China meeting was the first face-to-face meeting between the top brass since Biden took office on Jan. 20.
Asked about possible developments in the U.S. and China after the meeting, Psaki said the U.S. side expects some of the talks to be difficult, but will still be forthcoming on issues of concern, including human rights, Hong Kong, technology related to intellectual property theft and information protection, and regional military tensions.
She also reiterated that the talks provide an opportunity to address a wide range of issues, including those on which there are serious differences, with a focus on frank discussions, raising U.S. concerns and seeking ways and projects that can work together.
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