Is US-China friction at Alaska meetings a sign of worse to come or start of something better?

Name: Gloves off at top-level US-China summit in Alaska with on-camera sparring
Uploaded: 2021-03-20T00:00:09.000Z
Duration: 2 min 23 s
Description: Gloves off at top-level US-China summit in Alaska with on-camera sparring

Analysts in Asia say both Washington and Beijing are hesitant to give ground on issues that divide them, like the South China Sea

But others see possible areas of cooperation, such as over Myanmar, climate change and the coronavirus pandemic

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Yang Jiechi, right, director of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission Office for China, and Wang Yi, left, China's foreign affairs minister, arrive for a meeting with US counterparts at the opening session of US-China talks at the Captain Cook Hotel in Anchorage, Alaska. Photo: AFP

Maria Siow

Published: 8:00am, 20 Mar 2021Updated: 8:21am, 20 Mar 2021

The testy start to the Alaska meetings between the United States and China has taken analysts by surprise, with some pointing out that it does not augur well for US-China relations but others expressing cautious optimism that relations could return to an even keel despite the initial friction.

Chong Ja Ian, a political science professor at the National University of Singapore, said that while some discord was foreseen, “the degree of stridency was somewhat unexpected and has echoes of some of the early Cold War meetings between the former Soviet Union and the US”.

Chong said tensions were expected to continue under the Joe Biden administration, although he added it was unlikely that either side wants to see a complete breakdown in relations.

“Until then, other parties in Asia and beyond will have to face the challenge of having to constantly adjust to developing circumstances,” Chong said.

James Chin, Asian studies professor at the University of Tasmania in Hobart, Australia, said the inauspicious start indicated that both the US and China would “disengage for a little while and try to come back at a later time”.

“But in the immediate future, it will be very difficult for both sides to give in” on the issues that divide them, Chin said, adding that there was also concern among the Association of Southeast Asian Nations that Washington could take steps to confront Beijing in the South China Sea.

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

“A bipolar world may even emerge if these bad feelings [between US and China] cannot be resolved”, Chin warned.

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