A visit by China’s top diplomat intended to show growing US-China cooperation has instead highlighted political differences between the two world powers as Washington spoke out about democracy protests gripping Hong Kong.
Foreign Minister Wang Yi stopped in Washington after attending the UN General Assembly last week. He met Wednesday with his counterpart John Kerry, and got face time with President Barack Obama, who joined Wang’s discussions with National Security Adviser Susan Rice at the White House.
The US officials repeated the usual bromides about deepening ties, and they discussed Obama’s Nov. 10-12 visit to China when it hosts an economic summit of Asia-Pacific leaders.
But standing alongside Wang, Kerry also spelled out US support for electoral change in the Chinese territory of Hong Kong. Wang said that was none of Washington’s business.
“Hong Kong affairs are China’s internal affairs. All countries should respect China’s sovereignty,” he told reporters.
The diplomatic jousting underlined how the US and China remain poles apart on issues related to democracy, human rights and how to manage territorial disputes in Asia’s seas, even as they cooperate in other areas, like climate change.