Iran Press/America: Blinken and Sullivan will meet with diplomat Yang Jiechi, the director of China’s Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs, and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Anchorage, Alaska, on March 18.
Blinken and Sullivan’s engagement with the Chinese officials will come after Blinken and US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin travel to Tokyo and Seoul earlier in the week, according to a department statement from spokesperson Ned Price.
The Chinese and US officials will talk about a range of issues, according to the release. Testifying before the US House Foreign Affairs Committee Wednesday, Blinken suggested the meeting is a one-time deal, for now. "This is not a strategic dialogue. There's no intent at this point for a series of follow-on engagements. Those engagements, if they are to follow, really have to be based on the proposition that we're seeing tangible progress and tangible outcomes on the issues of concern to us with China."
It was important for the administration to first meet with China on American turf and after consulting with Asian and European allies, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Wednesday. The officials will discuss issues that the two sides have deep disagreements over, Psaki said.
"We intend to discuss our expectations and will be frank in explaining Beijing’s actions … and our concerns about challenges they pose to the security and values of the United States and our allies and partners," she said. "We will also talk about areas where we can cooperate, of mutual interest. We are coming to these discussions of course clear-eyed. The meeting also provides an opportunity to emphasize how the United States will stand up for the rules-based international system and a free and open Indo-Pacific."
The US will approach China from a position of strength and in lockstep with our allies and partners, Psaki said.
The meeting will come after US President Joe Biden had his first official call with President Xi Jinping of China last month after several weeks of silence. In that call, Biden challenged Xi on a number of issues, including China’s coercive and unfair economic practices, the crackdown in Hong Kong, and human rights abuses in Xinjiang, among other things, according to a readout of the call.
Biden announced the establishment of a Pentagon China task force last month, sending a message that the US wouldn’t shy away from China.
In a speech last week at the State Department, Blinken discussed rivalries with great powers like China and called for the US to support workers to help it face China.
China is the only country with the economic, diplomatic, military, and technological power to seriously challenge the stable and open international system — all the rules, values, and relationships that make the world work the way we want it to, Blinken said in the speech.
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