The first U.S.-China dialogue under the Biden administration opened in Anchorage, Alaska on March 18, featuring U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan as well as Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Yang Jiechi, the director of the Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs. The talks got off to a rough start, as the public remarks at the start were the diplomatic equivalent of fireworks.
The U.S. hosts gave opening remarks, followed by a lengthy rebuttal from Yang and, to a lesser extent, Wang. Then reporters were supposed to leave, but Blinken and Sullivan encouraged them to stay for a response from the U.S. side. Once again reporters began to be ushered from the room, only to have the Chinese delegation demand to get one last word in before the public segment of the talks concluded.
