As Wendy Sherman, US deputy secretary of state prepared to fly to China this weekend, Beijing imposed sanctions on seven Americans, in a tit-for-tat blow that illustrated the dismal state of US-China relations. US officials said the latest salvo, which targeted former commerce secretary Wilbur Ross and officials at US-based human rights institutions, would not give Beijing any leverage when Sherman meets Wang Yi, China’s foreign minister, on Monday.
But the exchange, which came in retaliation for Washington slapping sanctions this month on seven Chinese officials in Hong Kong, underscored the deep and growing chasm between the US and China as the countries prepared for their second top-level meeting since Joe Biden took office.
In his first six months in office, Biden has struck a strident tone towards China, punishing Beijing over its crackdown on freedoms in Hong Kong, its persecution of Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in Xinjiang, and its military activity near Taiwan. The president hopes this strategy, bolstered by coordination with allies, will help the US win what he views as an existential fight between democracies and autocracies.
Oriana Skylar Mastro, a China expert at Stanford University, said Biden had successfully shown China that US discontent was not limited to the previous administration in Washington. But she added that there was no sign he had convinced Chinese president Xi Jinping to change course. “Unfortunately they have decided to double down on all their problematic behavior,” she said. “I don’t think they have taken a look in the mirror in the way that we wanted. ”
Yang Jiechi, China’s top foreign policy official, ended the first, acrimonious meeting with Biden administration officials in March by declaring that the US no longer spoke to China “from a position of strength”
Beijing has _continued to push back against pressure from Washington. It approve Åctions law last month that allows it to impose penalties