China urged to ‘follow through’ on US concerns after Hawaii meeting

Senior US diplomat David Stilwell says Chinese side recommitted to phase one trade deal but otherwise was not ‘forthcoming’

Washington looking for reduction in ‘aggressive behaviour’ by Beijing in coming weeks

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David Stilwell said the aim of the talks in Hawaii was to let Beijing understand its actions were working against it. Photo: Reuters

Published: 1:00pm, 19 Jun 2020Updated: 11:16pm, 19 Jun 2020

A senior US State Department official who attended the diplomatic talks between the US and China in Hawaii has said the Chinese side was not “forthcoming” and urged Beijing to follow through on concerns raised during the hours-long meeting.

David Stilwell, assistant secretary of state at the east Asian and Pacific affairs bureau, said on Thursday that while China had recommitted to the phase one trade deal – signed in January to rein in their prolonged trade war – Washington was waiting to see what the next few weeks would bring in its relations with Beijing.

“Overall, given all the current circumstances with the relationship, the PRC [People’s Republic of China] side could not be described as really forthcoming in this,” he said, according to a State Department statement.

“I’m not going to go into detail on exactly what was discussed, but whether or not they were productive or not, I will look at what comes up in the next couple of weeks: do we see a reduction in aggressive behaviour or not?”

Stilwell’s remarks came after the meeting led by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and his Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi at a US airbase in Hawaii on Tuesday and Wednesday, which was also attended by Stilwell and China’s ambassador to the US, Cui Tiankai.