“I am very proud of the Secretary of State,” said Biden when asked by reporters from South Lawn about his reaction to the first day of negotiations, which began with an intense exchange on Thursday in Anchorage, Alaska. Negotiations resumed on Friday morning, local time. It was not clear whether either side would appear in the press as soon as the meeting ended.
The extraordinary interaction unfolded in front of reporters at the beginning of Thursday’s meetings, when Chinese officials ignored the protocol to refute Blinken’s description of Washington’s “deep concerns” about some of China’s actions and to vehemently criticize the U.S., the state of its democracy and the internal racial tensions. Blinken then brought the cameras back into the room to offer his own improvised rebuttal from the Chinese authorities.
At night, the Chinese accused the US delegation of being “condescending” in its tone, while an American official said Beijing officials seemed “committed to arrogance”.
The president’s endorsement sends a strong signal to the Chinese that the tone of Thursday’s meeting – a strong US criticism of China’s behavior internally in places like Xinjiang and abroad, as well as Blinken’s resistance – is fully supported by the government and that American authorities are speaking with one voice.
Even when the Biden government draws that line, in part an attempt to clearly distinguish itself from the Trump administration’s less united approach to Beijing, they also repeatedly emphasize that they are ready and willing to work with China in areas of mutual interest and concern. .
Behind closed doors and after the public confrontation, a senior administration official said: “after the splash in the pool, Secretary Blinken opened the discussion, and both sides immediately started working” and added that the first negotiating session “was substantive , serious and direct. “
“We used the session, as we had planned, to outline our interests and priorities, and we heard the same from our Chinese colleagues,” they said.
“In fact, the discussion went well beyond the 2 hours that we had allocated,” said the official in a press release.
The two sides held a second round of negotiations on Thursday night, before the third and final session on Friday.
CNN’s Betsy Klein contributed to this report.