White House vows to press Chinese officials over ‘deep disagreements’ in ‘frank’ first meeting in Alaska

Press Secretary Jenn Psaki notes: ‘It was important to us that this administration’s first meeting with Chinese officials be held on American soil’

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said the administration was expecting to host Chinese officials in Alaska next week for a first round of high-level meetings that would feature a “frank” discussion over “deep disagreements”.

While the press secretary noted the administration would seek ways to work with Beijing, she also said it was planning to address concerns about challenges China poses “to the security and values of the United States” when they meet next week in Anchorage.

“It was important to us that this administration’s first meeting with Chinese officials be held on American soil and occur after we have met and consulted closely with partners and allies in both Asia and Europe,” Ms Psaki said during her daily press briefing on Wednesday.

She added: “The meeting is an opportunity to address a wide-range of issues, including ones where we have deep disagreements. We intend to discuss our expectations and will be frank in explaining Beijing’s actions … and our concerns about the challenges they pose to the security and values of the United States and our allies and partners.”

Ms Psaki said the White House was “coming to these discussions, of course, clear-eyed” about Beijing’s recent actions, noting: “The meeting also provides an opportunity to emphasize how the United States will stand up for the rules based international system and a free and open Indo-Pacific.”

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan will join the meeting in Anchorage with China’s top diplomat, Yang Jiechi, and State Councillor Wang Yi. The meeting will follow Mr Blinken’s first overseas trip to US key allies Japan and South Korea.

The two sides will discuss “a range of issues,” the department said in a statement without giving further details. China’s embassy in Washington did not respond immediately to a request for comment.

President Joe Biden’s administration has committed to reviewing elements of US policies toward China, as the world’s two largest economies navigate frosty relations that sank to their lowest depths in decades during the Trump administration.

Mr Biden and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, held their first phone call as leaders last month and appeared at odds on most issues, even as Mr Xi warned that confrontation would be a “disaster” for both nations.

Mr Blinken told Mr Yang in a phone call earlier in February that the United States would stand up for human rights and democratic values in Xinjiang, Tibet and Hong Kong.

He also pressed China to condemn the military coup in Myanmar, and reaffirmed that Washington will work with allies to hold China accountable for efforts to threaten stability of Indo-Pacific, including across the Taiwan Strait.

The talks with China will follow a visit by Mr Blinken and US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to Japan and South Korea next week, as well as an online summit on Friday between Mr Biden and the leaders of Japan, India and Australia.

That will be the first leader-level meeting of the four-country group, known as the Quad, seen as part of US efforts to boost its diplomacy in Asia to balance China’s growing military and economic power.

Reuters contributed to this report