Well, that didn’t go well.

Hopes for a peaceful immediate future between the U.S. and China were dimmed as the first face-to-face meetings involving high-level officials from both countries — since President Joe Biden took office — began in Anchorage, Alaska.

The pre-meetings began with unpleasant exchanges, and the get-together didn’t show improvement.

A planned photo session scheduled for fewer than five minutes went on for more than an hour because of repeated insults, according to NBC News.

According to an Associated Press story, both sides recalled reporters into the room so they could add remarks.

The players in this attempt to forge an understanding were U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Yang Jiechi, director of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission of the Chinese Communist Party. 

What are the points of contention?

Pick a subject: Issues from trade to human rights in Tibet, Hong Kong and China’s western Xinjiang region, among others.

A CNBC story reported that Blinken said the Biden administration and its allies look down on China’s increasing authoritarianism.

“Each of these actions threaten the rules-based order that maintains global stability,” Blinken said of China’s actions in Xinjiang, Hong Kong and Taiwan, and of cyber attacks on the United States.

Yang griped about the U.S. and accused Washington of hypocrisy for criticizing Beijing on human rights and other issues.

“We believe that it is important for the United States to change its own image and to stop advancing its own democracy in the rest of the world …” Yang said. 

“We believe that it is important for the United States to change its own image, and to stop advancing its own democracy in the rest of the world.”

So, all in all, kind of a rough start.

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