US-China summit in Alaska turns civil after fiery start, but no room for hosted dinner

Name: Gloves off at top-level US-China summit in Alaska with on-camera sparring
Uploaded: 2021-03-18T22:11:27.000Z
Duration: 2 min 23 s
Description: Gloves off at top-level US-China summit in Alaska with on-camera sparring

As face-to-face meeting begins, top diplomat Blinken says US will outline ‘deep concerns’ about Xinjiang, Hong Kong and Taiwan

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US national security adviser Jake Sullivan (right) speaks as Secretary of State Antony Blinken looks on during the opening session. Photo: AFP

Mark Magnierin Anchorage

Published: 6:11am, 19 Mar 2021Updated: 2:56pm, 19 Mar 2021

The first day of talks between China and the United States in Alaska on Thursday started off on a predictably contentious note after days of posturing and talking past each other by the two powers, although there was some indication that the mood improved later behind closed doors.

Things started off civilly as the Chinese delegation walked down a long hallway in Anchorage’s Hotel Captain Cook, where the Americans are staying, everyone masked, past camera crews and into a ballroom to be greeted by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

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Gloves off at top-level US-China summit in Alaska with on-camera sparring

But in the opening statements a few minutes later the gloves came off, with China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi heard to tell the US side it was “no way to treat the guests”.

This was followed by efforts on both sides to frame the heated exchanges. Chinese state media later quoted an unnamed Chinese official – in a background briefing after the first day of talks – that China was sincere in its dialogue with the US, but the American side had overrun its opening remarks and made groundless accusations against China.

“This is not a way of hospitality, nor does it conform to diplomatic etiquette. China has responded solemnly to this,” the official said, according to state broadcaster CCTV.

In another sign of tension, the two sides did not sit down for a meal together, generally customary in meetings of this kind.

And a senior US official, speaking on background afterwards, countered that the US side had arrived hoping to lay out “the principles, interests, and values that animate our engagement with Beijing” but that the Chinese side “seems to have arrived intent on grandstanding, focused on public theatrics and dramatics over substance”.