The first high-level talks between the United States under the Biden administration and the Chinese Communist Party took place on Thursday. Held in Alaska, the initial discussion took place in public, before continuing in private.
Representing the United States was Secretary of State Antony Blinken and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan. Representing the Chinese regime was the government’s most senior foreign policy official, Yang Jiechi, and foreign minister Wang Yi.
“When it was first revealed that top officials from the United States and China would be meeting in Alaska this week, there was a degree of optimism this could mark the start of a new relationship between the two countries, after an almost complete breakdown during the final year of President Donald Trump’s term,” wrote James Griffiths for CNN.
Despite apparent initial optimism, the public portion of the meeting indicated a continued breakdown in relations between the two world powers, with several moments highlighting the potential impact of Biden’s foreign policy ineptitude on the global stage.
Here are the key takeaways from the public talks.
China overtly rejects Biden administration
In his opening statement, Yang rejected the authority and influence of “a small number of countries” with a “so-called ‘rules-based’ international order.”
“What China and the international community follow or uphold is the United Nations-centered international system and the international order underpinned by international law, not what is advocated by a small number of countries of the so-called ‘rules-based’ international order,” he said.
Speaking on the subject of regional issues, Yang stated that “the problem is that the United States has exercised long-arm jurisdiction and suppression and overstretched the national security through the use of force or financial hegemony, and this has created obstacles for normal trade activities, and the United States has also been persuading some countries to launch attacks on China.”
Yang rejected any criticism of cyber attacks, saying that “it’s the ability to launch cyber attacks or the technologies that could be deployed, the United States is the champion in this regard.”
“You can’t blame this problem on somebody else,” he added.
He concluded his opening remarks by stating “The United States itself does not represent international public opinion, and neither does the Western world.”
Speaking next, Wang added that “China certainly in the past has not and in the future will not accept the unwarranted accusations from the U.S. side.” He then blamed the United States for “a period of unprecedented difficulty” between the two nations, and that “China’s legitimate rights and interests have come under outright suppression.” He specifically referenced Hong Kong, saying “the United States escalated its so-called sanctions on China regarding Hong Kong, and the Chinese people are outraged by this gross interference in China’s internal affairs and the Chinese side is firmly opposed to it.”
Later, Yang was aggressive in his rejection of any condemnation of his tone, saying “Well, it was my bad. When I entered this room, I should have reminded the U.S. side of paying attention to its tone in our respective opening remarks, but I didn’t,” and that “The Chinese side felt compelled to make this speech because of the tone of the U.S. side.”
“Well, isn’t this the intention of United States, judging from what — or the way that you have made your opening remarks, that it wants to speak to China in a condescending way from a position of strength?” he continued. He later added that “the United States does not have the qualification to say that it wants to speak to China from a position of strength.”
Chinese launches veiled threats against the United States and the West
Speaking on the subject of military conflict, Yang claimed China is following a “path of peaceful development.”
“The wars in this world are launched by some other countries, which have resulted in massive casualties. But for China, what we have asked for, for other countries, is to follow a path of peaceful development, and this is the purpose of our foreign policy. We do not believe in invading through the use of force, or to topple other regimes through various means, or to massacre the people of other countries, because all of those would only cause turmoil and instability in this world.”
Yang then added a veiled threat, saying “And at the end of the day, all of those would not serve the United States well.”
His tone then became even more direct, saying “So we believe that it is important for the United States to change its own image and to stop advancing its own democracy in the rest of the world.”
Later, Yang clearly stated that he believed that Xinjiang, Tibet, and Taiwan were “an inalienable part of China’s territory,” and that “China is firmly opposed to U.S. interference in China’s internal affairs. We have expressed our staunch opposition to such interference and we will take firm actions in response.”
Speaking of confrontation, Yang said “But between our two countries we’ve had confrontation in the past, and the result did not serve the United States well. What did the United States gain from that confrontation? I didn’t see any, and the only result was damages done to United States. And China will pull through and has pulled through such confrontation.”
On the subject of sanctions in response to Hong Kong, Wang described these as “miscalculated,” and that they reflect “the vulnerability and weakness inside the United States.”
Shameless and unanswered Chinese propaganda
Yang began his opening statement by lauding various elements of Chinese political strategy.
“For China, we are now in a historic year where we will move from finishing the first centenary goal to the second centenary goal, and by the year 2035 China will surely achieve basic modernization. And by the year 2050, China will achieve full modernization,” he said.
Yang also claimed that China “has made decisive achievements and important strategic gains in fighting COVID-19,” making no reference to the fact that COVID-19 originated in China, and that China has “achieved a full victory in ending absolute poverty in China.”
Yang also provided a message of supposed unity, saying “The Chinese people are wholly rallying around the Communist Party of China.” He then directly associated these communist ideals with those of other nations, saying “Our values are the same as the common values of humanity. Those are: peace, development, fairness, justice, freedom, and democracy.” Yang later noted that this democracy is “Chinese-style democracy.”
Yang also dismissed any humanitarian concerns, claiming China has “engaged in tireless efforts to contribute to the peace and development of the world, and to upholding the purposes and principles of the UN Charter.”
Later, Yang stated that “In China, according to opinion polls, the leaders of China have the wide support of the Chinese people,” that “the opinion polls conducted in the United States show that the leaders of China have the support of the Chinese people,” and that “No attempt to smear China’s social system would get anywhere. Facts have shown that such practices would only lead the Chinese people to rally more closely around the Communist Party of China and work steadily towards the goals that we have set for ourselves.”
On the subject of human rights, Yang said “we hope that the United States will do better on human rights,” and claimed that “China has made steady progress in human rights,” immediately after arguing that Xinjiang was Chinese territory.
Ian Haworth is an Editor and Writer for The Daily Wire. Follow him on Twitter at @ighaworth.
The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.