Sullivan said the U.S. had earlier expected the talks to be “tough and frank.
The U.S. and China have met for two days in a row. Secretary of State John Blinken told reporters that Washington was concerned about Xinjiang, Hong Kong and Hong Kong, and White House national security adviser John Sullivan said the talks were “tough and frank. Chinese official media Xinhua reported on Saturday that Yang Jiechi, director of the Office of Foreign Affairs of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said the first face-to-face talks between Beijing and the Biden administration were “frank, constructive and helpful. (By Chen Junhao)
The third round of talks between the U.S. and China ended early Saturday morning, with Blinken and Sullivan briefly explaining to reporters after the meeting. Blinken said the U.S.-China meeting had two goals. One was to express major concerns in person about China’s behavior on many fronts, which has caused concern among U.S. allies and partners. The second was to lay out U.S. policy, priorities and world views to Beijing.
Blinken said it was clear to Washington before the talks that there were fundamental differences with Beijing in various areas, including China’s behavior in Xinjiang, Hong Kong, Tibet, Taiwan and the Internet. Blinken said it was not surprising that when he raised these issues clearly and directly with Chinese officials, China defended itself “in self-defense.
Blinken continued that the U.S. and China have spoken frankly on a number of issues, including Iran, North Korea, Afghanistan and climate issues, in which the U.S. and China share common interests; on economic, trade and technology issues, Blinken told Chinese officials that Washington will consult with the House and Senate, allies and partners when examining these issues, and that protecting the interests of U.S. labor and business is one of the goals.
In response to earlier comments that the U.S.-China meeting would help reset the diplomatic direction and attitudes of the two countries, Sullivan said the U.S. has already met with the Chinese government. Sullivan said the U.S. had expected the talks to be “tough and frank” and that diplomatic officials in Washington wanted to hear China’s views on a number of issues. He said Washington will continue to communicate with its allies and partners in the future, and that the U.S. will follow normal diplomatic channels to work with China on issues such as Iran and Afghanistan.
Chinese officials did not respond to questions from reporters as they left the collapsed hotel. Yang Jiechi later told China’s English-language official media, China Global Television Network (CGTN), that the talks were “useful and constructive, but of course there are still differences between the two sides.” Yang Jiechi said China “will firmly safeguard national sovereignty, security and development.”
Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Foreign Minister Yi told Chinese official media that he had made clear to U.S. officials that Chinese sovereignty is an important principle and urged the United States not to underestimate Beijing’s confidence in defending it.
As for the opening exchanges of the U.S.-China meeting, President Joe Biden said locally at the White House on Friday that he was “deeply proud of Secretary of State Blinken.”
The Chinese Foreign Ministry issued a statement Saturday saying that the ruling status of the Communist Party of China and the security of the system are “untouchable red lines,” and reiterated its position on Taiwan, Hong Kong, Xinjiang, Tibet and other issues, asking the U.S. not to interfere, saying that “the socialist system with Chinese characteristics is the system that best fits China’s national conditions and is the ‘code’ for China’s development. The ‘code’ of China’s development.”
Recent Comments