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Antony Blinken raises Xinjiang, Tibet, Hong Kong in his first call with China’s Yang Jiechi
The US secretary of state also told Yang, who is director of the office of the central commission for foreign affairs, that the United States and its allies will hold China “accountable for its efforts to threaten stability in the Indo-Pacific”
US secretary of state Antony Blinken on Friday raised human rights violations in Xinjiang, Hong Kong and Tibet in his first conversation with his Chinese counterpart, Yang Jiechi.
Blinken also told Yang, who is director of the office of the central commission for foreign affairs, that the United States and its allies will hold China “accountable for its efforts to threaten stability in the Indo-Pacific”, according to a readout of their call released by the US state department.
The new US administration’s engagements with China are being followed closely the world over, as well as in India. President Joe Biden has called China the “most serious competitor” and said in a speech earlier this week, “We’ll confront China’s economic abuses; counter its aggressive, coercive action; to push back on China’s attack on human rights, intellectual property, and global governance.”
Blinken’s conversation with Yang was the first contact between the new US administration with Chinese officials at the top level.
President Biden and President Xi Jinping have not spoken yet. Xi did call to leave a congratulatory message for Biden on his election win.
Blinken told Yang “the United States will continue to stand up for human rights and democratic values, including in Xinjiang, Tibet, and Hong Kong, and pressed China to join the international community in condemning the military coup in Burma (Myanmar)”, said the US state department.
Blinken went on to reaffirm the US will “work together with its allies and partners in defence of our shared values and interests to hold the PRC (People’s Republic of China) accountable for its efforts to threaten stability in the Indo-Pacific, including across the Taiwan Strait, and its undermining of the rules-based international system”.
