U.S., China clash in first in-person talks under Biden

Secretary of State Antony Blinken told Chinese officials Thursday the Biden administration stands with its allies in rejecting China’s increasing authoritarianism at home and abroad. China’s Foreign Affairs Chief Yang Jiechi then exceeded his 2-minute allotted time to condemn the United States’ “condescending” approach and said the United States needed to stop advancing its version of democracy as it deals with its domestic problems. The contentious public comments likely indicate even rockier private discussions during the two-day meeting in Anchorage, Alaska.

How are current relations between the two nations? The U.S.-China relationship is at its worst in decades as the world’s two largest economies grapple over trade, the pandemic, and China’s actions in the South China Sea. The United States has also criticized China’s rights violations in Hong Kong, Tibet, and Xinjiang. On Wednesday, Blinken announced new sanctions on Chinese and Hong Kong officials over the crackdown on democracy in Hong Kong.

Dig deeper: Read June Cheng’s journal report on the crackdowns in Hong Kong and Myanmar, also known as Burma.