US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said that China's actions threaten the rules-based system that guarantees global stability, while Beijing threatened to take firm measures against Washington's interference, at the opening of a two-day meeting in Alaska between officials of the two countries' foreign ministries.
"We will discuss our deep concerns about China's actions in Xinjiang," Blinken told the top diplomat of the Chinese Communist Party, Yang Jiechi, and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, as Washington accuses Beijing of committing "genocide" against Uyghur Muslims, as well as in "Hong Kong and Taiwan" as well as " Cyber attacks against the United States and economic coercion against our allies. "
Jake Sullivan, US President Joe Biden's national security advisor, stressed at the opening of the meeting that the United States is not seeking a "conflict" with Beijing, but is "open to fierce competition" with it. "We will always fight for the sake of our principles, our people and our friends."
On the other hand, the French Press Agency quoted a Chinese official as calling during the talks the Americans to "abandon the mentality of cold war", and the Chinese official threatened to take "firm measures" against "US interventions."
Talks are underway in Anchorage, Alaska, between US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan on the one hand, and senior Chinese official Yang Jiechi and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on the other.
An American official told reporters that this meeting constitutes "the first discussion to understand our interests, intentions and priorities."
"We are in the midst of a process of developing a fairly comprehensive Chinese strategy," the official added, adding that this meeting is "just the beginning of that process," adding, "We will present some specific issues that we think Beijing has to do something about to change its stance."