U.S., China wrap up testy 1st face-to-face talks under Biden

ANCHORAGE, ALASKA — Top U.S. and Chinese officials wrapped up two days of contentious talks in Alaska on Friday after having traded sharp and unusually public barbs over vastly different views of each other and the world in their first faceto-face meeting since President Joe Biden took office.

The two sides finished the meetings after an opening session on Thursday in which they attacked each other. The U.S. accused the Chinese delegation of “grandstanding” and Beijing fired back, saying there was a “strong smell of gunpowder and drama” that was entirely the fault of the Americans.

“We got a defensive response,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said after the meetings concluded. “We wanted to share with them the significant concerns that we have about a number of the actions that China has taken, and behaviors exhibiting concerns, shared by our allies and partners. And we did that. We also wanted to lay out very clearly, our own policies, priorities, and worldview. And we did that too.”

“There are a number of areas where we are fundamentally at odds,” he said. “It’s no surprise that when we raised issues we got a defensive response, but also we had a very candid conversation and a expansive agenda.”

There was no immediate response from the Chinese side, although the acrimonious tone of Thursday’s comments suggested the private discussions would be rocky.

As they opened the talks, Blinken said the Biden administration is united with its allies in pushing back against Chinese authoritarianism. In response, Chinese Communist Party foreign affairs chief Yang Jiechi accused Washington of hypocrisy on human rights and other issues.