Comparing U.S., China statements after Blinken-Wang met

High-level meetings between China and the US are again front-and-center for markets, and the official statements that follow those meetings are parsed by some investors as closely as Federal Reserve minutes.

Investors need to know where the connection is headed, so it’s significant how much Washington’s diplomatic take can differ from Beijing’s — in content and in tone.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and China’s top diplomat Wang Yi met last weekend in Germany to debate Ukraine, Taiwan and this month’s intrusion into U.S. airspace by — and the U.S. shoot-down of — a Chinese “spy balloon.”

What follows is a comparison between the official diplomatic statements of the United States and China that followed the Blinken-Wang meeting.

U.S. State Department: The Secretary directly spoke to the unacceptable violation of U.S. sovereignty and international law by the PRC high-altitude surveillance balloon in U.S. territorial airspace, underscoring that this irresponsible act mustn’t ever again occur. The Secretary made clear the US is not going to stand for any violation of our sovereignty, and that the PRC’s high altitude surveillance balloon program — which has intruded into the air space of over 40 countries across 5 continents — has been exposed to the world.

Chinese foreign ministry: Wang Yi set forth China’s strong position on the so-called “balloon incident” and identified that what the US side has done was apparently an abuse of using force and violation of customary international practice and the International Civil Aviation Covenant. China deplores it and strongly protests it. It’s the US who’s in reality the primary country when it comes to surveillance, whose high-altitude balloons illegally flew over China multiple times. The US is in no position to smear China. What the US must do is show sincerity, and acknowledge and resolve the damage its abuse of force has done to China-US relations. If the US side continues to fuss over, dramatize and escalate the unintended and isolated incident, it shouldn’t expect the Chinese side to flinch. The US side should be prepared to bear all consequence arising from an escalation.

U.S. State Department: On Russia’s brutal war against Ukraine, the Secretary warned in regards to the implications and consequences if China provides material support to Russia or assistance with systemic sanctions evasion.

Chinese foreign ministry: Wang Yi stressed that on the Ukraine issue, China stands by principles. China is committed to promoting peace talks and has played a constructive role. The China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination is built on the premise of non-alliance, non-confrontation and non-targeting of third countries, which is inside the sovereign right of any two independent states. We don’t accept the US’s finger-pointing and even coercion targeting China-Russia relations. The US, as a significant country, has every reason to work for a political settlement of the crisis as an alternative of fanning the flames or cashing in on it.

U.S. State Department: The Secretary condemned today’s ICBM test by the DPRK as the newest destabilizing act carried out by Pyongyang, and emphasized the necessity for responsible powers to reply to such significant international challenges.