U.S. Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns attended the 10th World Peace Forum held in Beijing, China on July 4, 2022. The 10th World Peace Forum opens in Beijing on Sunday.
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According to the Wall Street Journal, the U.S. ambassador to China said that although both sides agreed to strengthen contacts, Beijing was damaging relations between the two countries.
At the November summit, US President Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping reach agreement Support and expand exchanges between the two countries in areas such as students, business and sports.
quote a Exclusive interview with Ambassador Nicholas Burns, The Wall Street Journal reported that China “interrogated and intimidated citizens who participated in U.S.-organized events in China, increased restrictions on embassy social media posts, and stoked anti-American sentiment.”
“They say they are in favor of reconnecting our two peoples, but they are taking dramatic steps to make that impossible,” he was quoted as saying.
Sino-U.S. relations have picked up since Xi Jinping and Biden met on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in California last November.
Chinese officials have since welcomed top U.S. diplomats in Beijing, including Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
However, Burns told the Wall Street Journal that despite these actions, Beijing has increased its crackdown on U.S. diplomatic activities in China. He also claimed that the Chinese government pressured citizens to attend these events or told them not to go.
The ambassador reportedly said Beijing was making it more difficult for Chinese students to get into U.S. universities.
CNBC contacted the Chinese Embassy in Singapore but has not yet received a response.
The Wall Street Journal quoted the U.S. Embassy as saying that college fairs across China have rescinded invitations to U.S. diplomats to promote U.S. universities to high school students and their parents due to ideological or national security concerns.
About half of the participants selected for US-funded exchange programs have dropped out over the past two years, the report added, attributing this to pressure from authorities, schools and employers.
“What they’re telling us and the world is that they want human contact, but it’s not just incidental. It’s routine. It’s almost every public event,” Burns told the Wall Street Journal.
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