Xinjiang Cotton

The major political events in China in March 2021 were the annual “two sessions” (两会) of the National People’s Congress (NPC) and Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), held from March 5 to 11. As expected, these meetings drove up the occurrence of certain central and regional leaders in the official People’s Daily newspaper and provincial newspapers, as well as important banner phrases for leaders from Deng Xiaoping to Xi Jinping, and other phrases in the mainstream CCP discourse. 

Perhaps the most defining event in March, however, was the high-level exchange between China and the United States, held on the 18th and 19th in Anchorage, Alaska. The event proved to be highly contentious, and even in the run-up there were differences as toon how to characterize the nature of the exchange itself. While China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs referred to the Anchorage meeting as a “strategic dialogue,” US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken made clear that it …