US and China publicly rebuke each other in first major talks of Biden era

Anthony Blinken criticises China over Hong Kong and Xinjiang while his counterpart says US can no longer speak to China from a position of strength'

The United States and China publicly rebuked each other in the first face-to-face talks between senior officials from the two countries since Joe Biden took office, with one senior US official accusing their counterparts of being intent on grandstanding" and violating protocol".

The strained relations of the global rivals were put on rare public display in Alaska on Thursday during a highly unusual extended back-and-forth in front of the cameras when US secretary of state Antony Blinken and national security adviser Jake Sullivan opened their meeting with China's top diplomat Yang Jiechi and State Councilor Wang Yi.