National Security Council spokesman John Kirby sounded off Tuesday on critics he said are wrongfully claiming that the Biden administration is “bowing down” to China.
At the very end of a briefing with the White House press pool, Kirby was asked to respond to Chinese incursions in the Indo-Pacific, and specifically the notion that either the U.S. or China “are acting poorly and instigating actually escalation.”
“What will this administration do to lower those tensions in the Indo-Pacific?” a reporter posed.
“We’ve been talking about it now for two days, trying to keep the lines of communication open. Having a visit to Beijing just this week to see if we can’t get more transparency and get more communication open, including through the military to military lanes,” Kirby responded. “What are we doing? I mean, Secretary Austin, again attempted to have a discussion with his counterpart in the PLA, and they rebuffed that.”
“The two sides had candid and productive discussions as part of ongoing efforts to maintain open lines of communication and build on recent high-level diplomacy between the two countries,” the State Department said of the visit. “The two sides exchanged views on the bilateral relationship, cross-Strait issues, channels of communication, and other matters. U.S. officials made clear that the United States would compete vigorously and stand up for U.S. interests and values.”
But Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., criticized the Biden administration’s timing, noting the visit came on anniversary of the massacre in Tienanmen Square.
US MILITARY RELEASES VIDEO OF CHINESE WARSHIP CUTTING ACROSS AMERICAN DESTROYER IN TAIWAN STRAIT
NBC News reported Tuesday that two U.S. officials revealed Blinken has rescheduled that visit to China to happen in the next few weeks.
Two top U.S. and Chinese defense officials briefly interacted at a forum in Singapore over the weekend. China’s Foreign Ministry said Kritenbrink and Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu “had candid, constructive and fruitful communication on promoting the improvement of China-U.S. relations and properly managing differences.”
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, accompanied by Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Kritenbrink, seen on a trip to Vietnam in April. Kritenbrink arrived in Beijing this week to smooth tensions. (ANDREW HARNIK/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
Beijing said it had stated its “solemn position on Taiwan” — a self-ruled island China claims as its territory to be annexed by force if necessary — and other issues and that the two sides had agreed to maintain communication.
The Associated Press and Fox News’ Jessica Chasmer contributed to this report.
