Home » World » George Friedman: between America, China and Russia, it’s time for insults

George Friedman: between America, China and Russia, it’s time for insults

Whenever a new US president takes office, the other great powers seek to test his limits in order to prepare the ground for future negotiations, in case a conflict arises. But sometimes things go the other way around. So, America is the first to open the auction! This was the scenario of the China-United States meeting in Alaska on March 18: the new Secretary of State Antony Blinken then accused Beijing of human rights violations in Xinjiang and Hong Kong, as well as of various hostile operations in the cyber domain.

How did his Chinese counterpart react? By asserting that Washington is a staunch human rights violator, that the word of the United States represents only itself and that Americans are not entitled to speak on behalf of the rest of the world. The tone was set. It was that of a showdown, not a kind contact.

photo media_content">Chinese and US delegations at the first high-level meeting between the two countries since the election of US President Joe Biden on March 18, 2021 in Anchorage, Alaska

Chinese and US delegations at the first high-level meeting between the two countries since the election of US President Joe Biden on March 18, 2021 in Anchorage, Alaska

afp.com/Frederic J. BROWN

In advance, the Sino-American meeting was doomed to failure. Well ahead of it, Blinken and Jake Sullivan, Joe Biden’s national security adviser, had visited South Korea and Japan, two countries opposed to China and which, although long allies date, also have grievances to present to the United States (Seoul on the cost of hosting American troops and Tokyo, on the subject of strengthening its army to face China).

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