WASHINGTON – Top diplomats from the United States and China are planning for a closed-door meeting Wednesday in Honolulu as
WASHINGTON – Top diplomats from the United States and China are planning for a closed-door meeting Wednesday in Honolulu, as anti-U. S. propaganda from China’s state-controlled media outlets intensifies, exacerbating rising tensions between the two countries.
The planned one-day meeting between Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Chinese Politburo Member Yang Jiechi, would take place ahead of the U. S.-Russia arms-control talks in Vienna, scheduled to start June 22. In Honolulu, the U. S. is expected to renew its call for China to join three-way arms control talks.
Politico first reported Pompeo was quietly planning a trip to Hawaii to meet with Chinese officials.
A diplomatic source told VOA that China had requested the meeting.
The U. S. is described as “unenthusiastic” about the meeting, after Beijing officials used the George Floyd protests to accuse the Trump administration of a double standard when it criticized China’s crackdown on Hong Kong pro-democracy protesters.
Senator Rick Scott, a Florida Republican, said he does not trust Communist China’s intentions, nor does he think they’re acting in good faith.
“Until Communist China agrees to be transparent, fulfill the obligations under the Phase 1 trade deal, and stop violating human rights, stealing from the U. S., militarizing the South China Sea, taking away the rights of those in Hong Kong and threatening Taiwan, they will never be a trustworthy partner to the United States. We have to remember that Communist China never lives up to their agreements,” Scott told VOA Mandarin.
The planned meeting comes as the U. S. is trying to deter China from implementing a new national security law in Hong Kong that would erode the territory’s rights and freedoms under the Basic Law.
