Northern exposure: Alaskans hope hosting US-China talks helps rebuild state’s ties to Beijing
- In the wake of the Anchorage summit, state officials believe the time is right to thaw out trade and tourism links with the world’s second-largest economy
- US wariness of Chinese investment has deepened amid national security concerns, but many Alaskans would welcome Chinese buy-in, especially for a long-sought natural gas pipeline
After hosting the first encounter between the new Biden administration and its Beijing counterparts in a session marked by acrimony, Alaska still hopes its new-found notoriety will spur profitable ties with China.
“I am optimistic that publicity from meetings like this will put Alaska on people’s minds as a vacation destination – and as a trading partner,” said Lise Falskow, chief executive of the Alaska World Affairs Council.
Last month, a seemingly routine meeting between US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and top Chinese diplomat Yang Jiechi in America’s coldest state unexpectedly heated up when diplomats dropped their scripts and turned decidedly undiplomatic.
As the sit-down started, the two sides traded bitter accusations over human rights, rude American hosting, arrogance and missed dinners. Accounts of the dust-up quickly spread across the internet and across the Pacific, generating memes, transforming Chinese envoys into national heroes and all but ensuring that the world’s two largest economies will not achieve rapprochement any time soon.
Alaska is in many ways an ideal partner. This resource-rich state produces commodities that China needs to feed its massive economy. And its scarce population and labour force – Alaska has fewer people than a single district in Beijing – leave it less concerned than other American states about exporting factory jobs.