WATCH: Icy Talks Between Biden Secretary of State and Chinese Officials Melt Down
A diplomatic encounter between United States and Chinese officials melted down on Thursday, with Chinese attendees accusing their counterparts of “willfully interfering” in China’s affairs.
The meeting, which was originally intended to be a four-minute photo opportunity for the media, kicked off with Secretary of State Antony Blinken saying the United States was “concerned” by Chinese aggression in Hong Kong and Taiwan, as well as its cyberattacks against the United States. “Each of these actions threaten the rules-based order that maintains global stability,” Blinken said. “That’s why they’re not merely internal matters.”
Blinked was flanked by National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, who chimed in that the U.S. team had “heard each of these concerns from around the world.”
“Is that the way that you had hoped to conduct this dialogue?” replied Yang Jiechi, a top official in the Chinese Communist Party who formally heads the party’s Central Foreign Affairs Commission Office. “I think we though too well of the United States. We thought the U.S. side would follow the necessary diplomatic protocols. So for China, it was necessary that we make our position clear.”
Here is the moment when the previously icy talks between China And the US almost melted down— after a series of pointed statements from each side & both trying to have the last word. The press were ushered out but the Chinese wanted to respond. @jakejsullivan @SecBlinken pic.twitter.com/842naeVIDx
— Ruffini (@EenaRuffini) March 18, 2021
Reporters were asked to stay as the dialogue ramped up. However, CBS News’ Eena Ruffini late wrote on Twitter, members of the press corps were eventually “ushered out,” even as Chinese officials were seeking to continue the exchange.
China’s military has directed hacking efforts in over the last decade that have included attacks against companies around the world. That has most recently included Microsoft, which revealed this month that a hacking group from the country that it was referring to as “Hafnium” had breached Microsoft Exchange servers. The breach compromised an unknown number of private and government servers around the world.
The country has also insisted that it holds jurisdiction over Hong Kong and Taiwan, antagonizing those two regions. And it has soured on relations with many of its Asian neighbors, including Japan, over territorial disputes involving the South China Sea.
Jiechi said the points made by U.S. officials “did not represent international public opinion, and neither does the Western world.”
“We hope the U.S. side will think about whether it feels reassured saying those things because the U.S. does not represent the world,” Jiechi added. “It only represents the government of the United States.”
Watch above via Reuters and CBS.
