Officials from the United States and China met on Monday during a tumultuous meeting where they talked about various issues, including the alleged genocide in the southern province of Xinjiang in the Asian country.
U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman led the American delegation and met with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and other Chinese officials in Tianjin, China. The event was held a week after United States President Joe Biden's administration entered an international coalition to condemn China for its alleged cyberattacks against other nations.
U.S.-China Relations
In a statement, the State Department called the meetings "frank and open," which is a diplomatic code for a skirmish. It labeled Beijing as being an international outlier that has undermined international standards, citing the country's alleged genocide of minority Uighurs and China's refusal to cooperate with the World Health Organization (WHO) in its investigations of the COVID-19 pandemic's origins.
On Monday, Ned Price, the spokesman for the State Department, noted in a statement that Sherman said the United States was willing to welcome stiff competition between the two countries. He added that officials will continue to improve the American government's capability but said that they were not looking to enter conflicts with China, CNN reported.
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On the other hand, Beijing officials described the meetings as "in-depth and frank" and responded with condemning statements. Chinese authorities said they were extremely dissatisfied with the American government's "extremely dangerous China policy" and called the U.S. a hypocrite, referring to human rights.
During the meeting, Vice Foreign Minister Xie Feng said the relationship between the United States and China "is now in a stalemate and faces serious difficulties." In a statement, the ministry said America portrayed China as an "imagined enemy." Chinese officials urged United States authorities to change their misguided perspective of Beijing.
However, China said in the statement that it still wished to work together with the American government to address their relationship struggles. Beijing set the condition of the U.S. to "change course" and adhere to Chinese interests, CNBC reported.
Increasing Number of Demands
Shi Yinhong, director of Renmin University's Center on American Studies in Beijing, said both parties are trying to obtain a complete victory over the other. He said that officials are leaving little room for the other party to compromise. Shi added that it would be a surprise if the two nations can agree on a solution to any of the major issues they discussed.
Sherman's trip to Tianjin and meeting with Chinese officials is part of a broader U.S. diplomatic push in the Asian country. The event came amid Biden's continued push to withdraw American soldiers from Afghanistan and bolster his home country's foreign relationships. Later this week, Secretary of State Antony Blinken will visit India as Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin will travel to Singapore, Vietnam, and the Philippines on political agendas.
China also demanded that the U.S. government end its efforts to extradite Huawei Technologies Co. Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou, who is currently in Canada. Beijing's demands continue to make it difficult for Biden to grant any one of them to avoid looking to take it easy on the Asian nation, Bloomberg reported.
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