US and China hold first high level talks under Biden administration

The US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan have met with their Chinese counterparts – senior foreign affairs official Yang Jiechi and Foreign Minister Wang Yi  in the first two day high-level talks, taking place in Alaska. The officials have exchanged sharp rebukes and did not conclude the talks with a joint statement. 

Among issues discussed were cyberattacks on the USA, US notions of national security obstructing trade exchanges (alluding to tariffs and restrictions on Huawei and other Chinese companies imposed by the USA), and China subsidising tech industries and stealing intellectual property. Despite the sharp exchange, according to the BBC, US officials said the private conversation was substantive and serious, and Mr. Yang said that ‘serious difficulties in China-US relations in the past should not continue.’