US and Chinese officials on Friday wrapped up two days of talks in Anchorage, Alaska, in the first face-to-face meeting of representatives of the two nations since President Joe Biden took office.
The meeting ended with no diplomatic breakthrough, "but the bitter rivalry on display suggested the two countries had little common ground to reset relations that have sunk to the lowest level in decades," Reuters reported.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken had raised contentious issues such as the crackdown on democracy in Hong Kong and Chinese cyber-attacks on the US. After the meeting, Blinken said, "We got a defensive response" from the Chinese side.
“We wanted to share with them the significant concerns that we have about a number of the actions that China has taken, and behaviours exhibiting concerns, shared by our allies and partners. And we did that. We also wanted to lay out very clearly our own policies, priorities and world view. And we did that too," Blinken was quoted as saying by Associated Press.
Following the talks, an unnamed US official was quoted by Reuters as saying the two sides could explore some areas where they could work together.“We think there’s a few areas where probably, in the normal course of our diplomatic engagements, where we may be able to explore whether there’s areas where we can do some work together,” the official said. He referred to North Korea, Afghanistan and climate change as likely areas of convergence of interest for the two nations.
Chinese Communist Party foreign affairs chief Yang Jiechi, who represented Beijing, said dialogue was the only way to resolve differences, but emphasised China would safeguard its interests.
“China is going to safeguard our national sovereignty, security and our interests to develop China. It is an irreversible trend. We hope the United States is not going to underestimate China's determination to defend its territory, safeguard its people and defend its righteous interests," Yang was quoted as saying by Associated Press.
On the first day of talks, Blinken and Yang exchanged barbs over contentious issues.
