The U.S. Ambassador to China, Nicholas Burns, has leveled serious accusations against Beijing, stating that it is actively sabotaging diplomatic relations between the two nations. This comes despite an agreement in November to enhance engagement between ordinary Chinese and American citizens.
What Happened: Burns expressed his concerns over China’s actions in a recent interview with The Wall Street Journal, published on Tuesday, which include intimidating citizens who attend U.S.-organized events in China, increasing restrictions on the embassy’s social media posts, and stirring up anti-American sentiment.
"They say they're in favor of reconnecting our two populations, but they're taking dramatic steps to make it impossible," Burns said.
Burns, who assumed his role in April 2022, also expressed concern about the recent stabbing of four Iowa college instructors in northeastern China.
Despite the agreement between President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping to strengthen ties, Burns said that Beijing has increased its suppression of American diplomatic activities in China. He cited 61 public events since November where Chinese government bodies pressured citizens not to attend or tried to intimidate those who did.
"What they tell us and what they tell the world is they want people-to-people engagement, and yet this is not just episodic. This is routine. This is nearly every public event," Burns said.
"This is a serious breach and we hope that the PRC will reconsider," he added, using an acronym for the People's Republic of China.
Why It Matters: The accusations by Burns come in the wake of a series of events that have strained U.S.-China relations. In December, military officials from the U.S. and China reestablished communication after more than a year, signaling a potential thaw in relations.
However, in April, Biden and Xi continued talks about trade competition and national security, particularly in regard to technologies such as artificial intelligence and semiconductor manufacturing.
Further tensions arose in May, when the Chinese government condemned the Biden administration for increasing tariffs on a range of Chinese imports, vowing to retaliate.
Image created with artificial intelligence on MidJourney
This story was generated using Benzinga Neuro and edited by Pooja Rajkumari
© 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
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