“I’m very proud of the Secretary of State,” Biden said when asked by reporters at South Lawn for his response to the first day of talks, which began with a scathing exchange in Anchorage, Alaska on Thursday. Talks resumed Friday morning local time. It was unclear whether both parties would appear before the press once their meeting was over.
The extraordinary interaction took place at the beginning of Thursday’s meetings in front of reporters when Chinese officials ignored the protocol to refute Blinken’s description of Washington’s deep concern ‘about some of China’s actions and the US, the state of its democracy and to criticize domestic racial tension excessively. Blinken then brought the cameras back to the room to present his own, unwritten rebuttal of the Chinese officials.
By evening, the Chinese had accused the U.S. delegation of being “condescending” on their tone, while a U.S. official said Beijing’s representatives “intended to be big”.
The president’s ratification sends a strong signal to the Chinese that the tone given at the meeting on Thursday – a strong American criticism of China’s behavior in places like Xinjiang and abroad, as well as Blinken’s setback – is full. support from the government, US officials spoke with one voice.
Although the Biden government has drawn this line, and in part an attempt to clearly distinguish itself from the Trump administration’s less united approach to Beijing, it has also repeatedly emphasized its willingness and willingness to cooperate with China. in areas of mutual interest and concern.
Behind closed doors and after the public clash, a senior administration official said: “After the pool spraying, Secretary Blinken opened the discussion, and both sides immediately did business,” adding that the first session of talks was a substantial one. , serious, and direct. “
“We used the session just as we had planned to set out our interests and priorities, and we heard the same from our Chinese counterparts,” they said.
“In fact, the discussion went much further than the two hours we allocated,” the official said in a statement to the press.
The two parties held a second round of talks on Thursday night before the third and final session on Friday.
CNN’s Betsy Klein contributed to this report.