[ad_1]
“I am very proud of the Secretary of State,” said Biden, asked by reporters on the South Lawn for his reaction to the first day of talks, which began with a fiery exchange Thursday in Anchorage, Alaska. Talks resumed there Friday morning local time. It was not clear whether either party would appear before the press after their meeting was over.
The extraordinary interaction unfolded in front of reporters at the start of Thursday’s meetings when Chinese officials ignored protocol to refute Blinken’s description of Washington’s “deep concerns” over some of China’s actions and vehemently criticize them. United States, the state of their democracy and national racial tensions. Blinken then brought the cameras back into the room to offer his own unscripted rebuttal from Chinese authorities.
By evening, the Chinese accused the US delegation of being “condescending” in its tone, while a US official said Beijing officials appeared “determined to make the distinction.”
The president’s endorsement sends a strong signal to the Chinese that the tone struck at Thursday’s meeting – a strong American criticism of China’s behavior domestically in places like Xinjiang and abroad, as well as the refusal of Blinken – has the full support of the administration and that US officials speak with one voice.
Even as the Biden administration draws this line, in part in an attempt to clearly distinguish itself from the Trump administration’s less united approach to Beijing, they have also repeatedly stressed that they are ready and willing to work with it. China on areas of mutual interest and concern.
Behind closed doors and after the public clash, a senior administration official said: “After the pool was sprayed, Secretary Blinken opened the discussion and the two sides immediately got to work” and added that the first round of discussions “was substantive and serious., and straightforward.”
“We used the session, as we had planned, to present our interests and priorities, and we heard the same from our Chinese counterparts,” they said.
“In fact, the discussion went well beyond the 2 hours we had allotted,” the official said in a press release.
The two sides held a second round of talks Thursday evening before the third and final session on Friday.
CNN’s Betsy Klein contributed to this report.
[ad_2]
Source link