By Humeyra Pamuk

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken (2nd R), joined by National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan (R), speaks while facing Yang Jiechi (2nd L), director of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission Office, and Wang Yi (L), China's State Councilor and Foreign Minister, at the opening session of U.S.-China talks at the Captain Cook Hotel in Anchorage, Alaska, U.S. March 18, 2021. Frederic J. Brown/Pool via REUTERS

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Reuters) - U.S. and Chinese officials concluded on Friday what Washington called "tough and direct" talks in Alaska, which laid bare the depth of tensions between the world's two largest economies at the outset of the Biden administration.

The two days of meetings, the first high-level in-person talks since President Joe Biden took office, wrapped up after a rare and fiery kickoff on Thursday when the two sides publicly skewered each others' policies in front of TV cameras.

The run-up to the discussions in Anchorage, which followed visits by U.S. officials to allies Japan and South Korea, was marked by a flurry of moves by Washington that showed it was taking a firm stance, as well as by blunt talk from Beijing warning the United States to discard illusions that it would compromise.

"We expected to have tough and direct talks on a wide range of issues, and that's exactly what we had," White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters moments after the Chinese delegation left the hotel meeting room.

Members of China's delegation left the hotel without speaking to reporters, but China's top diplomat Yang Jiechi later told Chinese state media that the discussions had been constructive and beneficial, "but of course, there are still differences."

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, standing beside Sullivan, said he was not surprised that the United States got a "defensive response" from China after it raised its concerns over Chinese human rights abuses in Xinjiang, Tibet, and Hong Kong, as well as over cyberattacks and pressure on Taiwan.

But Blinken said the two sides also had intersecting interests on Iran, North Korea, Afghanistan, and climate change, and that the United States had accomplished during the meetings what it had come to do.

"On economics, on trade, on technology, we told our counterparts that we are reviewing these issues with close consultation with Congress, with our allies and partners, and we will move forward on them in a way that totally protects and advances the interests of our workers and our businesses," Blinken said.

China's State Councilor Wang Yi, who joined the meetings, was quoted by China's CGTN television network that they had told the U.S. side that China's sovereignty was a matter of principle and not to underestimate Beijing's determination to defend it.

After pointed opening remarks https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSL1N2LH0A5 on Thursday from Blinken about China's challenge to a rules-based international order, Yang had lashed out with a speech criticizing U.S. democracy, and foreign and trade policies.

The United States accused China of "grandstanding" for its domestic audience, and both sides suggested the other had broken diplomatic protocol.

The rebukes played out in front of journalists, but a senior U.S. administration official told reporters that as soon as media had left the room, the two sides "immediately got down to business" and held substantive and direct talks.

SHIFT IN EMPHASIS

While much of Biden's China policy is still being formulated, including how to handle the tariffs on Chinese goods implemented by his predecessor Donald Trump, his administration has so far placed a stronger emphasis on democratic values and allegations of human rights abuses by China.

"I am very proud of the secretary of state," Biden told reporters at the White House on Friday morning when asked about the previous day's meeting.

In recent weeks, top Republicans have given a nod to efforts by Biden, a Democrat, to revitalize relations with U.S. allies in order to confront China, a shift from Trump's go-it-alone 'America First' strategy.

Biden has partially staked his approach on China to rebuilding American domestic competitiveness, and several top Republicans, whose cooperation will be crucial to the success of those plans, backed his administration in the face of the heated exchanges from the first day of talks.

"I have many policy disagreements with the Biden Administration, but every single American should unite against Beijing's tyrants," Republican Senator Ben Sasse said in a statement.

While Biden's two-month old administration is still conducting China policy reviews, Yang and Wang by contrast are veteran diplomats with decades of combined experience handling U.S.-China relations at the highest levels of the Chinese government. They are also fresh off of dealing with the Trump administration and its unorthodox approach to U.S. foreign policy.

China's social media carried comments saying Chinese officials were doing a good job in Alaska, and that the U.S. side lacked sincerity.

"My sense is that the administration is testing the question of whether it is possible to get real results from these dialogues," Zack Cooper, who researches China at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, said of the U.S. side.

(Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk in Anchorage and Michael Martina, David Brunnstrom, Simon Lewis and Mohammad Zargham in Washington; Editing by Mary Milliken and Grant McCool)

-- © Copyright Reuters 2021-03-20

 

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Excellent I’m sure the Chinese realize the Biden administration won’t be a pushover hopefully constructive things can come in the near future.with our alliances with us we as a group present a much stronger presence 

2 hours ago, rooster59 said:

every single American should unite against Beijing's tyrants

Everyone who breathes should unite against Beijing's communist tyrants!

 

 

I good start.

And good too to see some Republicans backing the President of the United States.

Should have also mentioned China's support of the coup in Burma

I found various angles on the meeting this morning (mostly via MSN news) but most of them seemed in agreement that the China side blamed the US for this & that. I didn't expect anything else but I suppose actually meeting and voicing concerns does tell us what degree of limitation there might be for the future. 

That the Chinese could not adhere to the 2 minutes opening speech  protocol and made a rambling 16 minutes speech, just show the Chinese are still amateurs on the international scene. 

11 minutes ago, ExpatOilWorker said:

That the Chinese could not adhere to the 2 minutes opening speech  protocol and made a rambling 16 minutes speech, just show the Chinese are still amateurs on the international scene. 

Zhang Qian 200 BCE.

41 minutes ago, klauskunkel said:

Should have also mentioned China's support of the coup in Burma

Can you share official statement that China support the coup. Quite different from their official stance at Security Council which they support the SC statement but fall short of condemnation of the coup. Let’s be factual. 

“The envoy also referenced the U.N. Security Council statement of February 4, which China supported, that expressed “deep concern” at the arrests of leading NLD members, and other restrictions on civil society groups and journalists, while also reaffirming its “strong commitment to the sovereignty, political independence, territorial integrity, and unity of Myanmar.”

23 minutes ago, Eric Loh said:

Can you share official statement that China support the coup. Quite different from their official stance at Security Council which they support the SC statement but fall short of condemnation of the coup. Let’s be factual. 

“The envoy also referenced the U.N. Security Council statement of February 4, which China supported, that expressed “deep concern” at the arrests of leading NLD members, and other restrictions on civil society groups and journalists, while also reaffirming its “strong commitment to the sovereignty, political independence, territorial integrity, and unity of Myanmar.”

I believe that is called lip service, actions speak louder than words. 

33 minutes ago, Eric Loh said:

Can you share official statement that China support the coup. Quite different from their official stance at Security Council which they support the SC statement but fall short of condemnation of the coup. Let’s be factual. 

“The envoy also referenced the U.N. Security Council statement of February 4, which China supported, that expressed “deep concern” at the arrests of leading NLD members, and other restrictions on civil society groups and journalists, while also reaffirming its “strong commitment to the sovereignty, political independence, territorial integrity, and unity of Myanmar.”

China blocked the Security Council resolution condemning the coup.

6 minutes ago, placeholder said:

China blocked the Security Council resolution condemning the coup.

Agree. My post pertained to the misinformation regarding China official support the coup. Here is the full SC statement and no mentioned of condemnation of the coup. 

https://usun.usmission.gov/statement-by-the-president-of-the-security-council-on-myanmar-march-10-2021/

2 hours ago, klauskunkel said:

Should have also mentioned China's support of the coup in Burma

There is NO country known as Burma, and technically never has been. The correct name is Myanmar. Historically, based on location within the country and dialect spoken, it was always known as either Myanma or Bama and it was a province of India. historical & legal documents going back hundreds of years bear this out. The name Burma came about as the result of lazy, ignorant British foreigners translating the name to Burma because it was easier for them to pronounce, after they declared the country was no longer a province of British ruled India and they renamed it Burma in 1824 as part of their colonisation of the area. The Myanmar military changed the name to Myanmar in 1989, and shortly thereafter the UN officially recognised Myanmar as the correct name for the country. The USA is the only major country that for some strange reason to this day still does not officially recognise Myanmar as the country's name, even though they voted in support of the UN resolution to accept Myanmar as the country's correct name. Just another instance of US Govt hypocrisy. The majority of Myanmar people have NEVER officially recognised Burma as the name of their country.

2 hours ago, Chomper Higgot said:

I good start.

And good too to see some Republicans backing the President of the United States.

And some support the Burmese junta:

14 House Republicans vote against a measure condemning military coup in Myanmar

"The Republicans who opposed the Myanmar measure include some of the most conservative members of Congress -- Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, Lauren Boebert of Colorado, Andy Biggs of Arizona, Matt Gaetz of Florida, Thomas Massie of Kentucky, Ken Buck of Colorado, Mary Miller of Illinois, Chip Roy of Texas, Jody Hice of Georgia, Alex Mooney of West Virginia, Scott Perry of Pennsylvania, Andy Harris of Maryland, Ted Budd of North Carolina and Barry Moore of Alabama."

Despicable, no other word for it!

15 minutes ago, TigerandDog said:

There is NO country known as Burma, and technically never has been. The correct name is Myanmar. Historically, based on location within the country and dialect spoken, the country was always known as either Myanma or Bama, and historical & legal documents going back hundreds of years bear this out. The name Burma came about as the result of lazy, ignorant anglo foreigners translating the name to Burma because it was easier for them to pronounce. The Myanmar military changed the name to Myanmar in 1989, and shortly thereafter the UN officially recognised Myanmar as the correct name for the country. The USA is the only major country that for some strange reason to this day still does not officially recognise Myanmar as the country's name, even though they voted in support of the UN resolution to accept Myanmar as the country's correct name. Just another instance of US Govt hypocrisy. Myanmar people have NEVER officially recognised Burma as the name of their country.

I actually asked about similar to my burmese friends.

They said most still call it burma and many in the countryside dont even know it was changed to myanmar.

They refer to it as burma.

For all of the right wing pundits, who predicted that the left (communists and socialists, remember?) would be run over by China, this is a cautionary tale, about demonization of your political opponent. Trump did not do so well with China. He lost the trade war with them, and was absolutely pummeled by Xi, one minute into the first round. Not to mention losing to Kim, Putin, MBS, and everyone else he negotiated with. Biden is a far stronger leader. He has some principals! What a concept. 

Time for people to call out the US on its dreadful hypocrisy. Hang tough China.

1 hour ago, spidermike007 said:

For all of the right wing pundits, who predicted that the left (communists and socialists, remember?) would be run over by China, this is a cautionary tale, about demonization of your political opponent. Trump did not do so well with China. He lost the trade war with them, and was absolutely pummeled by Xi, one minute into the first round. Not to mention losing to Kim, Putin, MBS, and everyone else he negotiated with. Biden is a far stronger leader. He has some principals! What a concept. 

Please provide references.

10 minutes ago, rcuthbert said:

Please provide references.

If you need references, you will not be convinced, regardless of how many facts I provide. I will always choose a man with 36 years of experience in the Senate, over a game show host, a pathological liar, and the leader of a real estate crime syndicate. 

 

I will indulge you with one fact. 

 

The trade war caused economic pain on both sides and led to diversion of trade flows away from both China and the United States. As described by Heather Long at the Washington Post, “U.S. economic growth slowed, business investment froze, and companies didn’t hire as many people. Across the nation, a lot of farmers went bankrupt, and the manufacturing and freight transportation sectors have hit lows not seen since the last recession.

 

https://www.brookings.edu/blog/order-from-chaos/2020/08/07/more-pain-than-gain-how-the-us-china-trade-war-hurt-america/

8 hours ago, rooster59 said:

China's sovereignty was a matter of principle and not to underestimate Beijing's determination to defend it.

China can not feed itself, hat water they have is polluted. They are buying land in other countries to produce food. Canada and Africa are two of the main ones.

https://www.foxnews.com/world/chinese-buy-up-canada-farms-is-beijing-behind-it

Don't sell them land, don't buy their second rate manufactured products and don't travel in China. I believe they would be slightly more cooperative.

1 hour ago, Pedrogaz said:

Time for people to call out the US on its dreadful hypocrisy. Hang tough China.

So hypocrisy is worse than dictatorship/the oppression of 1.4 billion people? Seriously??

20 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

If you need references, you will not be convinced, regardless of how many facts I provide. I will always choose a man with 36 years of experience in the Senate, over a game show host, a pathological liar, and the leader of a real estate crime syndicate. 

 

I will indulge you with one fact. 

 

The trade war caused economic pain on both sides and led to diversion of trade flows away from both China and the United States. As described by Heather Long at the Washington Post, “U.S. economic growth slowed, business investment froze, and companies didn’t hire as many people. Across the nation, a lot of farmers went bankrupt, and the manufacturing and freight transportation sectors have hit lows not seen since the last recession.

 

https://www.brookings.edu/blog/order-from-chaos/2020/08/07/more-pain-than-gain-how-the-us-china-trade-war-hurt-america/

The allies were able to win WW2 mainly because the manufacturing base was able to convert to ship building, weapons manufacturing and airccraft production. Where are all the main manufacturers now, China. It would be them that had th factories to convert. Manufacturing needs to return to the U S, for jobs, security and defense.

At least no one on the US side called the Chinese leader a killer,  that would of been a big mistake.

At least they know who they can say it to because the Russians laugh at anything US says, me too. ????????

 

 

1 hour ago, rcuthbert said:

Please provide references.

Here ya go:

China failed to buy agreed amounts of U.S. goods under ‘phase one’ trade deal, data shows

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/22/china-failed-to-buy-agreed-amounts-of-us-goods-in-phase-one-trade-deal-data.html

China post-COVID export growth sets new record

The latest figures have smashed analysts' predictions for the world's second-biggest economy.

https://www.dw.com/en/china-post-covid-export-growth-sets-new-record/a-56798158

22 minutes ago, Kwasaki said:

At least no one on the US side called the Chinese leader a killer,  that would of been a big mistake.

At least they know who they can say it to because the Russians laugh at anything US says, me too. ????????

The Russians definitively take very seriously everything the (superpower) US says and so do you. That much is evident from your pouty posts when anyone from the US dares to criticize the dictator in Beijing.

41 minutes ago, Kwasaki said:

At least no one on the US side called the Chinese leader a killer,  that would of been a big mistake.

At least they know who they can say it to because the Russians laugh at anything US says, me too. ????????

Not so much laughing at what the US does though. Or are the Russians also laughing about the dismal state of their economy?

2 minutes ago, placeholder said:

Not so much laughing at what the US does though. Or are the Russians also laughing about the dismal state of their economy?

It is amazing how small the Russian economy really is. It is only for historical reasons and their 7,000 nuclear strong arsenal that keep them at the big boys table.

 

While the population of Russia is almost five times that of Texas, Texas outpaces Russia when it comes to GDP. Russia's gross domestic product amounts to about 1.3 trillion, while the Lone Star State's comes to about 1.7 trillion. That means Texas crushes Russia when it comes to per capita GDP.

10 minutes ago, Phoenix Rising said:

The Russians definitively take very seriously everything the (superpower) US says and so do you. That much is evident from your pouty posts when anyone from the US dares to criticize the dictator in Beijing.

I knew someone was ganna say that,  don't dare bring the US to account on anything.

Superpower that's a laugh Russia has far superior weapons than the US the US is way behind. 

Russia and China and throwing in Iran,  Nth. Korea  don't want a war and ain't scared at all they are only concerned about the USA starting one. 

I don't care about personal comments about what I  post either there just commical.

Just now, Kwasaki said:

I knew someone was ganna say that,  don't dare bring the US to account on anything.

Superpower that's a laugh Russia has far superior weapons than the US the US is way behind. 

Russia and China and throwing in Iran,  Nth. Korea  don't want a war and ain't scared at all they are only concerned about the USA starting one. 

I don't care about personal comments about what I  post either there just commical.

Even if Russia had an edge in weaponry, which is dubious unless you believe Russian propaganda, it's tiny and shrunken economy precludes it from being considered as a superpower.

https://www.ceicdata.com/en/indicator/russia/gdp-per-capita

tle.

1 hour ago, spidermike007 said:

If you need references, you will not be convinced, regardless of how many facts I provide. I will always choose a man with 36 years of experience in the Senate, over a game show host, a pathological liar, and the leader of a real estate crime syndicate. 

 

I will indulge you with one fact. 

 

The trade war caused economic pain on both sides and led to diversion of trade flows away from both China and the United States. As described by Heather Long at the Washington Post, “U.S. economic growth slowed, business investment froze, and companies didn’t hire as many people. Across the nation, a lot of farmers went bankrupt, and the manufacturing and freight transportation sectors have hit lows not seen since the last recession.

 

https://www.brookings.edu/blog/order-from-chaos/2020/08/07/more-pain-than-gain-how-the-us-china-trade-war-hurt-america/

You lack the requisite objectivity to be taken seriously.