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Alaska summit: for China and the US, a narrow road through deep divisions
- Relations will get worse before they get better as each country regroups with allies and partners, observers say
- The Anchorage meetings were a chance for each side to size the other up as they consider longer term plans
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The first high-level talks between China and the United States since US President Joe Biden took office began with acrimony and ended with a consensus that observers say opens up a narrow path to cooperation between the two powers.
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Senior officials from the two countries met in three sessions in Anchorage, Alaska, on Thursday and Friday.
After the meetings, both sides noted a gulf on many contentious issues, but pledged to work together in areas such as climate change, Iran, North Korea, and Afghanistan.
Top Chinese diplomat Yang Jiechi called the talks “direct, frank and constructive”.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called the talks “a very candid conversation on an expansive agenda” that included economics, trade, and technology. But he also said his team received a “defensive response” on issues where the two countries were “fundamentally at odds”, including Xinjiang, Hong Kong, Tibet, Taiwan and cyberspace.
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In a statement released after the meeting, Beijing said the two countries would set up a joint working group on climate change.
Beijing also said they discussed arrangements for diplomats and consular staff from both countries to have coronavirus vaccines, and how to foster exchanges between those missions and other groups, including the media.
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