Beijing is hoping for a meeting between Joe Biden and Xi Jinping next month if the first high-level US-China talks in Alaska, which begin on Thursday, are successful.
China urged Xi-Biden meeting if Alaska talks result well
NEW YORK, NY - FEBRUARY 16: Children hold American and Chinese flags during a firecracker ceremony and cultural festival to mark the first day of the Lunar New Year in Chinatown neighborhood in Manhattan, February 16, 2018 in New York City. The 2018 Chinese New Year, which is the year of the dog, begins on Friday and celebrations will last for over two weeks.
One of the people said that the Biden-Xi discussion would be scheduled around Earth Day on April 22 to indicate that both leaders are committed to fighting climate change. On that day, Biden aims to hold a conference of world leaders to call for greater ambition in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, Bloomberg via MSN reported.
Both the US and China have downplayed the importance of the Alaska negotiations, which will occur on Thursday and Friday local time. The United States will be represented by Secretary of State Antony Blinken and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan. In contrast, China will be represented by Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Politburo member Yang Jiechi.
Cui Tiankai, China's ambassador to the US, told state-run China Central Television that China's hopes for the meeting aren't "too high." He added that it would be a success if it begins "honest, constructive, and fair" dialogue.
Both countries have argued over how to characterize the negotiations, with the United States disputing China's description of the conference as a "high-level political dialogue." Blinken said on Wednesday that it would be a chance to "share with our Chinese counterparts, very personally, face-to-face, the questions that the United States, our allies and partners have about some of the things that China is doing."
China has asked the Biden administration to lift tariffs and sanctions imposed by Donald Trump during his presidency and limits on key technology shipments to Chinese firms. After administration officials tightened sanctions on Huawei Technologies Co., China's Foreign Ministry said last week that the US "isn't a reliable country that can be trusted."
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Will the China-US meeting in Alaska be a new starting point
High-ranking Chinese and US government officials will meet in Alaska for the first official dialogue from Thursday to Friday this week. The conference is distinct from the "two-plus-two" diplomatic dialogue between the US and Japanese foreign and defense ministers, as well as prior rounds of the US-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue. This seems to be the starting point for the world's two most strong nations and economies to re-establish bilateral links, as per Global Times.
The new round of high-level dialogue between China and the US can serve as a new starting point for the bilateral relationship. The previous Trump administration has almost completely abandoned official dialogue mechanisms with China, taking an extreme "decoupling" strategy.
Since Joe Biden took office in January, Washington has expanded its contacts with Beijing. On February 6, Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi spoke by phone with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. On Chinese New Year's Eve, the United States and China presidents spoke on the phone. With the forthcoming high-level meeting, Biden has taken a step back from his predecessor's confrontational approach.
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Alaska's chill mirrors the outlook for talks between the US, China
As China's top diplomat, Yang Jiechi, meets with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Alaska on Thursday, the superpowers' first meeting since President Joe Biden took office is a critical playbook for both sides.
The deep freeze that the two giants are in is highlighted by the freezing cold and 10-foot snow mounds in Anchorage as they surround each other cautiously. The fact that they're meeting at all indicates a willingness to at least consider engaging in a dialogue and setting a fresh tone after years of trans-Pacific trade wars and bitter name-calling.
Although the Biden administration has been developing its policy of rallying other disgruntled democracies against China, as shown by Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin's trips to Japan and Korea this week, it cannot afford to wait indefinitely because some of its agendas, such as climate change and economic renewal, require any form of coordination with Beijing. And, while China may see America as a fading force that it may inevitably drive out of the neighborhood, it also recognizes that it is not there yet and that any confrontation with the US may result in humiliation, according to South China Morning Post.
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