US Ambassador Accuses China of Damaging Bilateral Relations, WSJ Reports

The US ambassador to China said Beijing was undermining ties between the two countries despite the two sides’ agreement to strengthen engagement, according to the Wall Street Journal.

At a summit in November, President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping agreed to support and expand exchanges between the two countries in areas such as student, trade and sports exchanges.

Citing an exclusive interview with Ambassador Nicholas Burns, the WSJ reported that China was “interrogating and intimidating citizens who attended U.S.-hosted events in China, tightening restrictions on embassy publications about social media and stoking anti-American sentiment.”

“They say they are in favor of reconnecting our two populations, but they are taking drastic measures to make that impossible,” he was quoted as saying.

It comes as ties between the United States and China have warmed somewhat after Xi and Biden met in California on the sidelines of the APEC summit in November.

Since then, Chinese officials have hosted top U.S. diplomats, including Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, in Beijing.

However, Burns told the 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 or told its citizens who attended these activities not to go.

According to the report, the ambassador said Beijing was making it more difficult for Chinese students to attend American universities.

CNBC contacted the Chinese Embassy in Singapore and has not yet received a response.

The WSJ, citing the U.S. Embassy, ​​said college fairs across China had rescinded invitations to U.S. diplomatic personnel to promote U.S. universities to high school students and their parents, citing ideological or national security concerns.

The report added that about half of the participants selected over the past two years for U.S.-funded exchange programs have withdrawn, attributing this to pressure from authorities, schools and employers.

“What they’re telling us and what they’re telling the world is that they want interpersonal engagement, and yet it’s not just episodic. It’s a routine. That’s the case with almost every public event,” Burns told the Journal.

Read the full Wall Street Journal report here.