China’s ‘Black Lives Matter’ Official Scolds Biden Envoy (Again) in 7-Hour Meeting

Senior Chinese Politburo member Yang Jiechi berated U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan over America’s support for Taiwan and opposition to genocide in an “intense” meeting on Monday that lasted seven hours, according to Chinese state media.

Yang and Sullivan previously met a year ago in Anchorage, Alaska, alongside Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. On that occasion, Yang berated the American officials for America’s alleged rampant racism and other forms of bigotry; Yang specifically mentioned the “Black Lives Matter” movement as evidence of human rights abuses in America.

Readouts and reports from the meeting did not indicate that Blinken or Sullivan spent any significant amount of time condemning China for its ongoing genocide of Muslim-majority ethnic groups in occupied East Turkistan, its cultural genocide in Tibet, its violent repression of people of faith in political dissidents, or anything else on the long list of Communist Party human rights crimes.

The Yang-Sullivan meeting occurred in Rome, was a long-planned effort according to both sides, and reportedly lasted seven hours. China’s government-run Xinhua News Agency reported that Yang spent much of the meeting scolding Sullivan for America’s support of the democratic government of Taiwan. Taiwan is a sovereign state friendly to the United States, despite the fact that America does not formally recognize it as a country to placate China.

The Communist Party considers Taiwan a rogue province of China despite the fact that the island has never been ruled by a government in Beijing.

“Stressing that the Taiwan question concerns China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, Yang said … the U.S. side explicitly recognized that there is only one China,” according to Xinhua, meaning that Taiwan is not a country. “The current U.S. administration has pledged to adhere to the one-China policy and not to support ‘Taiwan independence’ [sic] in regard to the Taiwan question, but its actions are obviously inconsistent with its statements, he said.”

“The Chinese side expresses grave concern over and firm opposition to the recent wrong words and deeds of the U.S. side on Taiwan-related issues, Yang noted,” according to Xinhua, “adding that any attempts to condone and support ‘Taiwan independence’ separatist forces, or play the ‘Taiwan card’ and use the Taiwan question to contain China will be futile.”

Xinhua also reported that Yang “expounded on China’s solemn position on issues related to Xinjiang [East Turkistan], Tibet and Hong Kong, pointing out that these issues concern China’s core interests and are China’s internal affairs that allow no foreign interference.”

China has imprisoned up to 3 million people in concentration camps in East Turkistan and embarked on a mass sterilization campaign to limit the Uyghur population there.

In Tibet, it has similarly built camps and outlawed Tibetan Buddhism and language. In Hong Kong, China de facto ended the “One Country, Two Systems” policy that prevented the Communist Party from imposing itself on the city in 2020, illegally passing a “national security” law that allowed the arrest of anyone accused of a variety of crimes including “subversion of state power.”

The Chinese report on the meeting did not attribute any statements or comments to Sullivan.

The White House published a short readout about the meeting, stating that it covered “a range of issues” and included “substantial discussion of Russia’s war against Ukraine” – a topic Chinese state media coverage appeared to de-emphasize.

“They also underscored the importance of maintaining open lines of communication between the United States and China,” according to the White House.

In more extensive comments, an unnamed “senior [Biden] administration official” told reporters on Monday that the meeting was “intense” and confirmed it lasted seven hours. The official claimed that Sullivan “reiterated our One China policy based on the Taiwan Relations Act, Three Communiqués, and Six Assurances,” apparently yielding to Yang’s demands.

The official also claimed, however, that Sullivan “underscored concerns about Beijing’s courses and provocative actions across the Taiwan Strait,” referring to illegal military intrusions into Taiwanese airspace.

The official confirmed that the two sides engaged in the meeting for no specific reason other than talking.

“You know, I would just say that this meeting was not about negotiating any specific issues or outcomes,” the official reportedly said, “but about a candid, direct exchange of views and articulation of those. And I would suppose it depends on how you define success.”

The official also confirmed the meeting yielded no substantive outcomes.

The exchange recalled the troubled, and ultimately unproductive, meeting in Anchorage, which also had no particular agenda and yielded no outcomes. On that occasion, Yang ranted about racism in America for 16 minutes – the two sides had agreed that each party would receive two minutes of initial speaking time – and accused America of being a human rights criminal state.

“On human rights, we hope the United States will do better on human rights. China has made steady progress in human rights, and the fact is that there are many problems within the United States regarding human rights, which is admitted by the U.S. itself as well,” Yang said. “The challenges facing the United States in human rights are deep-seated. They did not just emerge over the past four years, such as ‘Black Lives Matter.’ It did not come up only recently.”

The Chinese Communist Party was so pleased with Yang’s display that Chinese e-commerce companies began selling a variety of products with designs featuring Yang quotes, including “T-shirts, umbrellas, handbags, lighters, and mobile phone cases,” to commemorate the occasion.

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