US, EU diplomats voice concern about China’s human rights abuses, aggression

The US and European Union held a new round of diplomatic talks on their relations with China on Thursday, the latest sign of a burgeoning transatlantic united front to confront Beijing amid rising geopolitical tensions.

In a joint statement issued after the meeting in Washington between Wendy Sherman, the No 2 official in the US State Department, and European External Action Service Secretary General Stefano Sannino, one of the EU’s top diplomats, the two sides expressed alarm at China’s crackdown on human rights at home and sabre-rattling against its neighbours.