China’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning has questioned the “sincerity” of U.S. President Joe Biden’s remark. Biden said, “I think you’re going to see that begin to thaw very shortly,” referring to U.S.-Chinese relations at the recent G-7 summit. Mao said, “China and the U.S. maintain necessary communication. However, now the U.S. says it wants to speak to the Chinese side while seeking to suppress China through all possible means and impose sanctions on Chinese officials, institutions, and companies.” U.S. State Department spokesman Mathew Miller backpedaled the President’s words when he said, “[It is] very much not so. He [Biden] also made clear that we are not planning to lift any sanctions on him [China’s defense minister] or on China more broadly.”
