SCS tensions overshadow opening of key US-China talks

摘要

The rising tensions over the disputed South China Sea (SCS) cast a shadow over the joint opening of the eighth round of China-US Strategic and Economic Dialogues and the seventh round of the China-US High-Level Consultation on People-to-People Exchange, which began on 6 June in Beijing. "The broad Pacific Ocean should not become an arena for rivalry, but a big platform for inclusive co-operation," Chinese President Xi Jinping said at the opening ceremony, acknowledging the increased tensions over the disputed resource-rich waters. Just a day earlier US Secretary of State John Kerry had warned China that the establishment of an air defence identification zone (ADIZ) over the SCS would be a "provocative and destabilising act".