US: China’s actions threaten global stability | Abroad

US and China ministers are in Alaska for a two-day meeting. This is the first summit meeting between the great powers since the inauguration of the new American president Joe Biden. Blinken is present on behalf of the US, and for China top diplomat Yang Jiechi and the Secretary of State Wang Yi have traveled to Alaska.

Blinken said he was concerned about cyber attacks on the US, among other things. He also announced that he wanted to talk about the situation in Hong Kong and Taiwan and China’s “economic coercion” on US allies.

During a ten-minute opening statement by Yang, the diplomat accused the US of interfering in internal affairs, among other things. The US accused China of violating the protocol after speaking for longer than the scheduled two minutes. According to China, it was the American representatives who spoke for too long during their opening statement. The diplomats allegedly have been “inhospitable” and made unreasonable accusations about China’s domestic and foreign policies, state media say. According to a Chinese diplomat, the Americans also “provoked a quarrel.”

Blinken has been harshly critical of China in recent days. The minister accused Beijing of systematically undermining Hong Kong’s autonomy and violating human rights in Tibet and Xinjiang. In Xinjiang, critics say the Uyghur minority is being oppressed. Blinken has already made it clear in the run-up to the summit that he wants to use the meeting in Alaska to share his concerns in “clear terms” with his Chinese colleagues. The Biden government made it clear that it would not shy away from confronting China.

China announced in advance that it would not make concessions on crucial issues. The Chinese State Department asked the Americans to engage in a “sincere and constructive manner”. “China has no room to compromise on issues related to its sovereignty, security and core interests,” said a spokesman for the Chinese ministry.

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