U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a visit by U.S. President Joe Biden to the State Department in Washington on February 4, 2021.
Tom Brenner | Reuters
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has called on China to condemn the military coup in Myanmar and warned Beijing that Washington will work with its allies to hold the People’s Republic accountable for what it described as its efforts to threaten international stability, particularly in the Taiwan Strait.
Blinken spoke with his counterpart, Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi, last Friday at the first conversation between senior U.S. and Chinese officials since President Joe Biden took office. The top U.S. diplomat stressed human rights in the call, while Yang called for Washington to respect China’s sovereignty.
“Secretary Blinken stressed that the United States will continue to uphold human rights and democratic values, including in Xinjiang, Tibet and Hong Kong, and pressured China to join the international community in condemning the military coup in Burma. “said White House spokesman Ned. Price said in a statement.
The contentious call between top diplomats in Washington and Beijing shows that relations between the two largest economies in the world under the Biden administration are unlikely to improve. Yang told the US not to interfere with China’s internal affairs in Hong Kong, Xinjiang and Tibet. Yang warned Blinken that any attempt to slander China would be unsuccessful.
Tensions between the US and China reached a boiling point under the Trump administration. While President Joe Biden is reviewing several Trump-era foreign policy decisions, he is unlikely to reverse most of the previous administration’s policies on China. Biden has already said he will not immediately eliminate hundreds of billions of dollars in tariffs imposed by Trump against Chinese exports, as the new administration is also trying to take a tough approach to trade.
The day before Biden’s inauguration, the Trump administration labeled the repression of Uighur Muslims in China’s western Xinjiang province as “genocide and crimes against humanity.” As soon as Trump left office, Beijing imposed sanctions on former administration officials, including former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and trade adviser Peter Navarro.
The Biden administration will maintain the genocide designation, Biden candidate for UN Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said during her confirmation hearing. Biden had condemned China’s actions in Xinjiang as genocide during his presidential campaign.
The White House is already facing its first major international flashpoint with China after Myanmar’s military toppled and arrested the country’s civilian leadership earlier this month.
The US has warned that it will take action against those responsible for the coup if they do not release the detained civilian leadership and defend the country’s democratic transition. China, for its part, has avoided condemning the coup and has called for a resolution of the crisis under the country’s constitution.
Tensions are also growing over Taiwan. Beijing claims sovereignty over Taiwan, which has self-government under the umbrella of U.S. security guarantees. Days after Biden took possession, China sent warplanes into the Taiwan Strait, feeling condemned by Washington. On Thursday, a U.S. Navy warship sailed across the strait for the first time since Biden took office.
“The Secretary reaffirmed that the United States will work together with its allies and partners in defending our shared values and interests to hold the PRC accountable for its efforts to threaten stability in the Pacific Indian Ocean, including the Taiwan Strait. , and its undermining of the rules-based international system, “State Department spokesman Price said of Blinken’s call Friday.
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