CCTV/Reuters- Senior Chinese diplomat Yang Jiechi questioned the U.S. side's freedom of press during Thursday's high-level strategic dialogue when the U.S. side demanded clearance of press from the talk venue in Anchorage, Alaska.
"Why being afraid of the presence of the press? There's no need to fear the presence of the press, right?" said Yang just as the U.S. side was sending away reporters during the meeting.
During Thursday's fiery discussion between the two sides, Yang, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee, also challenged the aggressive manner from U.S. diplomats.
"Aren't you always talking about democracy? The U.S. had two rounds of speech time. You should also allow China's right to two rounds of speech time," Yang said at the meeting.
"History will show that whoever takes the approach of choking, suppressing China would end up inflicting harm on itself," Yang said.