U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has called for China to condemn the military coup in Myanmar and warned Beijing that Washington will work with its allies to hold the People’s Republic accountable for what he described as its efforts to threaten international stability particularly in the Taiwan Strait.
Blinken spoke with his counterpart Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi late Friday in the first conversation between senior U.S. and Chinese officials since President Joe Biden took office. The top U.S. diplomat stressed human rights in the call, while Yang called for Washington to respect China’s sovereignty.
The contentious call between the top diplomats in Washington and Beijing shows that relations are unlikely to improve between the world’s two largest economies under the Biden administration. Yang told the U.S. not to interfere with China’s internal affairs in Hong Kong, Xinjiang and Tibet. Yang warned Blinken any attempt to slander China would be unsuccessful.