Fiery Start to U.S.-China Talks Shows Acrimony Will Remain
- First meeting in Alaska immediately descends into bickering
- Talks to continue on Friday with no clear sign of progress
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The first face-to-face meeting between the U.S. and China since President Joe Biden took office was bound to be confrontational. The question now is whether the two sides can find a way to cooperate after unloading so many grievances in public.
Top diplomats from the world’s two largest economies criticized each other over everything from trade to human rights in a high-stakes first encounter Thursday in an Alaskan ballroom. U.S. Secretary of State Secretary of State Antony Blinken accused Beijing of undermining global stability and vowed to raise contentious issues such as China’s actions in Hong Kong and Xinjiang. His counterpart, Yang Jiechi, replied that the U.S. wasn’t “qualified to speak to China from a position of strength.”