US, China spar over world order during their 1st meet under Biden

Washington DC: US Secretary of State Tony Blinken has bluntly told China's top diplomats that Beijing's actions have threatened the rules-based order that maintains global stability, as the two sides exchanged sharp rebukes in public during their first in-person high-level meeting since President Joe Biden took office.

The talks involved Secretary of State Antony Blinken and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan on the US side, facing off with China's top foreign policy official, Yang Jiechi, and foreign minister Wang Yi.

In his opening remarks to the much-anticipated US-China talks being held in Anchorage, Alaska, on Thursday, Blinken said that the issues to be raised by his delegation are relevant not only to the two countries but to others across the region and indeed around the world.

The Biden administration, Blinken asserted, is committed to leading with diplomacy to advance the interests of the United States and to strengthen the rules-based international order.

"That system is not an abstraction. It helps countries resolve differences peacefully, coordinate multilateral efforts effectively, and participate in global commerce with the assurance that everyone is following the same rules," Blinken said.

The alternative to a rules-based order is a world in which might makes right and winners take all, and that would be a far more violent and unstable world for all of us," he said.

At the first-ever meeting of the Quad last week, US President Joe Biden, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrision and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said they were committed to promoting a free, open, rules-based order, rooted in international law to advance security and prosperity and counter threats to both in the Indo-Pacific and beyond.

"We support the rule of law, freedom of navigation and overflight, peaceful resolution of disputes, democratic values, and territorial integrity," the top leaders of the US, India, Australia and Japan said in a joint statement, amidst China's aggressive actions in the strategic Indo-Pacific.

Blinken said the meeting was an opportunity to discuss key priorities, both domestic and global, so that China can better understand the Biden administration's intentions and approach.

The relations between the US and China are at an all-time low. The two countries are currently engaged in a bitter confrontation over various issues, including trade, Beijing's aggressive military moves in the disputed South China Sea and human rights in Hong Kong and Xinjiang region.

We'll also discuss our deep concerns with actions by China, including in Xinjiang, Hong Kong, Taiwan, cyber attacks on the United States, and economic coercion toward our allies," Blinken said.

"Each of these actions threatens the rules-based order that maintains global stability. That's why they're not merely internal matters and why we feel an obligation to raise these issues here today, Blinken said.