What may be one of the world’s most important diplomatic meeting this week is taking place in a closed-door conference room at the Hotel Captain Cook in Anchorage, Alaska, where top Chinese and U.S. diplomats will address the countries’ tense relations. The primary participants are Secretary of State Antony Blinken, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, Chinese Communist Party foreign affairs chief Yang Jiechi, and China's State Councilor Wang Yi. State Department officials have told reporters that contentious issues such as trade and China’s human rights positions would be addressed, as well as potential areas of cooperation such as climate change.
The meeting attracted international media. The State Department allowed a small group of news organizations that typically cover the agency to observe part of the first meeting Thursday. They entered the room alongside a small group of Chinese journalists. Additional meetings later were closed to coverage.
But as the talks kicked off, nothing seemed amiss for many people downtown. The State Department had kept the meeting location under wraps, and the only obvious giveaways were security vehicles and news crews outside the hotel. Bill Popp, president of the Anchorage Economic Development Corp. in nearby Peterson Tower, said downtown traffic had been pretty quiet.
Nothing momentous has emerged so far.
What may be one of the world’s most important diplomatic meeting this week is taking place in a closed-door conference room at the Hotel Captain Cook in Anchorage, Alaska, where top Chinese and U.S. diplomats will address the countries’ tense relations. The primary participants are Secretary of State Antony Blinken, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, Chinese Communist Party foreign affairs chief Yang Jiechi, and China's State Councilor Wang Yi. State Department officials have told reporters that contentious issues such as trade and China’s human rights positions would be addressed, as well as potential areas of cooperation such as climate change.
The meeting attracted international media. The State Department allowed a small group of news organizations that typically cover the agency to observe part of the first meeting Thursday. They entered the room alongside a small group of Chinese journalists. Additional meetings later were closed to coverage.
But as the talks kicked off, nothing seemed amiss for many people downtown. The State Department had kept the meeting location under wraps, and the only obvious giveaways were security vehicles and news crews outside the hotel. Bill Popp, president of the Anchorage Economic Development Corp. in nearby Peterson Tower, said downtown traffic had been pretty quiet.
Nothing momentous has emerged so far.
(post is archived)