Troubled US-China ties face new test in Alaska meeting

Washington:  The United States and China will face a new test in their increasingly troubled relations when top officials from both countries meet in Alaska.
Ties between the world’s two largest economies have been torn for years and the Biden administration has yet to signal it’s ready or willing to back down on the hard-line stances taken under President Donald Trump. Nor has China signalled it’s prepared to ease the pressure it has brought to bear. Thus, the stage is set for a contentious first face-to-face meeting Thursday.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken and national security adviser Jake Sullivan will meet China’s top two diplomats, State Councilor Wang Yi and Chinese Communist Party foreign affairs chief Yang Jiechi in Anchorage, Alaska. Difficult discussions are anticipated over trade, human rights in Tibet, Hong Kong, China’s western Xinjiang region, Taiwan, Chinese assertiveness in the South China Sea, and the coronavirus pandemic.  No agreements are expected.
 This really is a one-off meeting, said a senior administration official. This is not the resumption of a particular dialogue mechanism or the beginning of a dialogue process. The official briefed reporters ahead of the meeting on the condition of anonymity.
Blinken will attend the meeting having just come from Japan and South Korea, where he and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin were promoting the Biden administration’s commitment to its treaty allies in Asia.