China, US continue to wrangle over protocol after Sherman talks
- Washington puts the focus on deputy secretary of state’s meeting with the Chinese foreign minister
- But Beijing’s line is that she was hosted by an official at a lower ranking during visit to Tianjin
But China’s line, delivered via state media, was that Sherman had been hosted by an official at a lower ranking – foreign vice-minister Xie Feng.
The US State Department named only Foreign Minister Wang in its readout, with no mention of any other Chinese officials involved in the talks – in line with a statement last week on Sherman’s itinerary.
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Pang Zhongying, an international relations expert at the Ocean University of China in Qingdao, said that protocol aside, China and the US had both gone into the talks wanting to show they would not budge.
“Both sides laid out their demands for each other, and both were basically telling their domestic audiences that they would not bow down to the other side,” he said.
His view was echoed by Zhu Feng, an international relations professor at Nanjing University, who said domestic sentiment meant “they both wanted to be seen as standing firm”.
“China-US relations have undergone a lot of change,” Zhu said. “The Biden administration has stepped up its strategic competition with China, and China doesn’t accept that and it will continue to fight back in a high-profile way.”
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“The deputy secretary raised concerns in private – as we have in public – about a range of PRC actions that run counter to our values and interests and those of our allies and partners, and that undermine the international rules-based order,” State Department spokesman Ned Price said.
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Yogesh Gupta, a former Indian ambassador to Denmark and a specialist in China-India relations, said Beijing was sending a message that Washington must respect its sensitivities if it wants China’s support on other issues.