Biden adviser meets with Chinese foreign minister to try to ease tensions | News

The White House says Jake Sullivan and Chinese envoy Wang Yi have had “substantial and constructive discussions” and hope to maintain “open lines of communication.”

US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan spoke “candidly” with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Malta over the weekend, as the world’s two largest economies seek to stabilize their rocky trade relations. of trade and militarization of the Pacific.

During two days of talks on Saturday and Sunday, Wang referred to the issue of Taiwan – a democratic, self-governing island that China claims as its own territory – as a “red line that cannot be crossed in Sino-U.S. relations.” . The United States is committed to defending Taiwan against possible Chinese aggression.

“The United States has emphasized the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait,” the White House said in a statement, adding that the two officials “committed to maintaining this strategic communications channel and pursuing additional high-level engagement.”

A Chinese government statement on the Malta meeting largely echoed the US version, saying that “the two sides conducted frank, substantive and constructive strategic communication.”

China has accused the United States of weaponizing technology and trade issues under the guise of national security, while Washington has warned Beijing against its military ambitions in Taiwan and the Pacific. The United States has forged security alliances in the Pacific to counter China’s growing influence.

Sullivan’s meeting with Wang was the latest in a series of high-level discussions between U.S. and Chinese officials that could lay the groundwork for a meeting between U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping later this year.

Sullivan last met Wang in Vienna, the Austrian capital, in May.

Global and regional security

Sullivan and Wang discussed relations between the two countries, global and regional security issues, Russia’s war in Ukraine and the Taiwan Strait, according to the White House statement.

“Both sides are committed to maintaining this strategic communications channel and pursuing additional high-level engagements and consultations in key areas between the United States and the People’s Republic of China in the months to come,” according to the communicated.

Biden this month expressed disappointment that Xi skipped a summit of Group of 20 leaders in India, but said he would “have a chance to see him.” The next likely opportunity for Biden to speak with Xi is an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in November in San Francisco, California, in the United States.

US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen visited China this year to ensure continued communication between the two countries amid tensions that erupted after The US military shot down a Chinese surveillance balloon flying over the United States.

Xi did not attend last weekend’s G20 summit in New Delhi and is not expected to be in New York for the United Nations General Assembly this month. Biden said he hoped to meet Xi soon. The two leaders have not spoken since their meeting last November in Indonesia, according to the White House.