‘Fundamentally at odds’: China, U.S. retreat to their corners after Alaska talks-Politico

A tense diplomatic meeting ends with both sides digging in and courting allies

The first showdown is over, and each side came out throwing punches.

...

... The gathering began with bitter exchanges, and ended with somber words.

“There are a number of areas where we are fundamentally at odds,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said as the last session drew to a close Friday, “including China’s actions in Xinjiang, with regard to Hong Kong, Tibet, increasingly Taiwan, as well as actions that it is taking in cyberspace. And it’s no surprise that when we raised those issues clearly and directly we got a defensive response.”

[I don’t even know what Xinjiang is. Hong Kong, Tibet and Taiwan are human rights area.]

Early next week, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will visit China, with the United States sure to be on the agenda. The Biden administration’s relationship with both countries is on a downward slide. Biden recently agreed that Russian dictator Vladimir Putin is a “killer,” while Putin replied by ominously wishing Biden “good health.”

US and China trade angry words at high-level Alaska talks

(BBC)

The ill-tempered talks in Anchorage...

In a blunt opening statement before the talks in private, Mr Blinken said the US would "discuss our deep concerns with actions by China, including in Xinjiang, Hong Kong, Taiwan, cyber attacks on the United States, economic coercion of our allies".

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Mr Yang said human rights in the US were at a low point, with black Americans being "slaughtered".

Mr Sullivan hit back, saying Washington did not seek a conflict with China, but added: "We will always stand up for our principles for our people, and for our friends."

It was an unusually undiplomatic sparring match, especially for a meeting called to take stock of the US-China relationship under a new American administration.

Beforehand the Biden team had been blunt in public criticism of Beijing. So the Chinese knew what to expect and seemed to have come prepared to hit back. 

They were particularly angry that Washington had imposed sanctions on them the day before the talks, over a crackdown on pro-democracy advocates in Hong Kong.

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The Biden administration...has described the relationship as a geopolitical competition between democracy and autocracy. 

And the Chinese have refused to compromise on what they say are matters of national sovereignty and security. 

Afterwards, the US delegation accused China of violating the agreed protocol of two minutes of opening remarks by each side.

"The Chinese delegation... seems to have arrived intent on grandstanding, focused on public theatrics and dramatics over substance," a senior administration official said.

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What do China and the US disagree about?

Quite a lot.

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Human rights and democracy. The US accuses China of genocide against the Uighur population in the province of Xinjiang, and trampling on democratic rights in Hong Kong with a recently introduced security law.

But China calls on the US to stop interfering in what Beijing considers its internal affairs...

This is bad, guys. It just is. I don’t like this a bit (as I wrote this morning).