'This is a test': US, China diplomats exchange quips about translator after a heated start

As the first first-to-face talks between China and the United States under President Joe Biden administration took a heated start, the top officials of both economic superpowers found a brief moment to exchange witty remarks about translators. After US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan made their respective remarks against China, the top diplomacy official of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Yang Jiechi responded with a striking 15-minute speech in Chinese while the American side waited for the translation. 

Towards the end of his speech, Yang smiled and said, “This is a test for the translator” while Blinken said that the translator should get a raise. As per reports, the British-educated Yang is a former ambassador to Washington and is known to speak English fluently, so much that he can scare CHina’s translators on occasions by pointing out the mistakes. Both Yang and China’s State Councilor Wang Yi are known for their to-the-point defences of the country. 

Even though the official talks witnessed some totally different issues of concerns raised by either party, another widely shared video clip on Chinese social media reportedly showed the light-hearted side of Beijing’s diplomats during the Alaska summit. As per reports, in the clip, Wang turns to Yang while walking down a hallway at the Anchorage hotel whether he had lunch to which Yang replies, “I had instant noodles.”

China calls out US on ‘internal interference’

Apart from the jolly side of the diplomats, at the Anchorage summit with the Chinese Communist Party’s top diplomacy official, Yang Jiechi and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, responded to the US’ straight-forward remarks in a similar tone. Yang gave a 15-minute speech in Chinese while the American delegation waited for translation. CCP’s top diplomacy official lashed out about America’s struggling democracy and the poor treatment of the minorities. He also threatened “firm actions” against the “US interference” and also called for an end to the “Cold War mentality” stunting the rivals’ relationship. 

"China is firmly opposed to US interference in China's internal affairs. We have expressed our staunch opposition to such interference, and we will take firm actions in response. What we need to do is to abandon the Cold War mentality and the zero-sum game approach,” said Yang. 

“The United States uses its military force and financial hegemony to carry out long-arm jurisdiction and suppress other countries. It abuses so-called notions of national security to obstruct normal trade exchanges, and incite some countries to attack China,” he added.