US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a visit by US President Joe Biden to the State Department in Washington, February 4, 2021.
Tom Brenner | Reuters
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called on China to condemn the military coup in Myanmar and warned Beijing that Washington will work with its allies to hold the People’s Republic accountable for what it described as its efforts to threaten international stability, especially in the Strait. from Taiwan.
Blinken spoke with his counterpart, Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi, on Friday, in the first conversation between American and Chinese officials since President Joe Biden took office. The top US diplomat emphasized human rights in the summons, while Yang urged Washington to respect China’s sovereignty.
“Secretary Blinken emphasized that the United States will continue to defend human rights and democratic values, including in Xinjiang, Tibet and Hong Kong, and pressured China to join the international community in condemning the military coup in Burma,” said the White House spokesman, Ned Price said in a statement.
The dispute between top diplomats in Washington and Beijing shows that relations are unlikely to improve between the two largest economies in the world under the Biden government. Yang told the United States not to interfere with China’s internal affairs in Hong Kong, Xinjiang and Tibet. Yang warned Blinken that any attempt to slander China would be unsuccessful.
Tensions between the U.S. and China have reached a boiling point under the Trump administration. Although President Joe Biden is reviewing a number of foreign policy decisions from the Trump era, he is unlikely to reverse most of the previous government’s policies towards China. Biden has already said he will not immediately remove hundreds of billions of dollars in tariffs imposed by Trump against Chinese exports, as the new government is also seeking a tough approach to trade.
The day before Biden’s inauguration, the Trump administration labeled the crackdown on Uighur Muslims in western China’s Xinjiang province as “genocide and crimes against humanity”. As soon as Trump stepped down, Beijing imposed sanctions on former government officials, including former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and commercial adviser Peter Navarro.
The Biden government will defend the designation of genocide, Biden’s nominee for the UN ambassador, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, said during her confirmation hearing. Biden condemned China’s actions in Xinjiang as genocide during his presidential campaign.
The White House is already facing its first major international focus with China after the military in Myanmar overthrew and detained the country’s civilian leadership earlier this month.
The United States has warned that it will take action against those responsible for the coup if they do not release the detained civilian leadership and support the country’s democratic transition. China, for its part, has avoided condemning the coup, instead calling for the resolution of the crisis according to the country’s constitution.
Tensions are also rising in relation to Taiwan. Beijing claims sovereignty over Taiwan, which has self-government under the umbrella of US security guarantees. Days after Biden’s inauguration, China sent warplanes to the Taiwan Strait, drawing condemnation from Washington. On Thursday, a US Navy warship sailed the strait for the first time since Biden took office.
“The Secretary reaffirmed that the United States will work together with its allies and partners to defend our shared values and interests to hold the PRC accountable for its efforts to threaten stability in the Indo-Pacific, including across the Taiwan Strait, and its weakening of the international rules-based system, “Price, a State Department spokesman, said of Blinken’s call on Friday.
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