Fireworks and fury set New Cold War tone in Alaska – Asia Times

Far from paving the way for a smooth reset in US-China relations, the much-anticipated high-level meeting in Anchorage, Alaska, seemed instead to confirm the fact that the two superpowers are locked in a de facto New Cold War.

The two plus two meeting between US State Secretary Antony Blinken and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan with their Chinese counterparts Wang Yi and Yang Jiechi got off to a tumultuous start, as both sides took uncompromising positions before the cameras.

Instead of exploring common ground and heading off the dangerous escalation of various bilateral tensions, each side played to their domestic audience by taking a maximalist position.

As promised, the US officials ignored China s red lines by directly raising sensitive human rights issues in China, including in regard to the treatment of Uighur Muslim minorities in Xinjiang and the suppression of democratic protests in Hong Kong.

China s two most decorated diplomats, who as ambassadors in the past played a pivotal role in restoring fraught relations with the US (Yang) and Japan (Wang), fired back in their now characteristic wolf warrior fashion.

via asiatimes.com