The Chinese Foreign Ministry said that China will be clarifying its stance on multiple issues at the upcoming first high-level China-U.S. strategic meeting in Anchorage, Alaska, addressing U.S. comments about raising concerns at the meeting. 

"We believe that the U.S. side is well aware of China's determination to safeguard its sovereignty, security and development interests," the ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said at Wednesday's regular press conference.

At the invitation of the U.S. side, Wang Yi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister, will meet U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan in Alaska on March 18 and 19.

Reuters reported that senior American officials have said that the U.S. will deal with China with an "increasingly strong hand" and raise concerns regarding China's take on a range of issues, including human rights.

The spokesperson said the talks will also include issues related to Hong Kong and Xinjiang, saying that the Chinese side will brief the U.S. on the matter and demonstrate China's position.

Zhao added that the U.S.'s attempts to set the tone ahead of the talks to pressure China will never succeed, noting that the meeting was proposed by the U.S. side and the "2+2" form of the meeting.

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Responding to a question from CGTN on the United Nation's hope for China and the U.S. to find ways to cooperate on key global issues, Zhao said the Alaska meeting reflects that desire. 

"China's attendance upon the invitation shows China's goodwill and sincerity in resuming the communication and exchanges with the U.S. and in improving and developing the China-U.S. ties," Zhao said.

He said China and the U.S. have different political systems, so inevitably, there will be differences on certain issues. The key is to respect each other, treat each other equally and manage the differences in a constructive way.

He also noted that China and the U.S. have numerous common interests, such as tackling climate change and helping to foster global economic recovery in the post-pandemic era, which require closer communication and coordination between the two countries.