Jake Sullivan Visits China to Stabilize Bilateral Relations
U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan will travel to China on Tuesday at the invitation of top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi, as the world’s two largest economies seek to stabilize their relationship.
The three-day trip marks Sullivan’s fifth meeting with Wang Yi, China’s foreign minister and director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee. They last met in January in Bangkok, Thailand, two months after Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Joe Biden held talks in San Francisco.
Beijing described the previous talks as “substantive and constructive.”
“After San Francisco, the diplomatic, financial, law enforcement and climate teams and the militaries of the two sides have maintained communication, and the exchanges between the two peoples have increased,” according to a statement from China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs detailing Sullivan’s upcoming visit.
“Meanwhile, the United States has kept containing and suppressing China. And China has taken resolute countermeasures. The China-U.S. relationship is still at a critical juncture of being stabilized.”
Key Issues on the Agenda
Wang and Sullivan are expected to engage in in-depth discussions on a range of issues, including the Taiwan question, the South China Sea, tariffs and export controls, as well as conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine.
Building on the common understandings reached by the two heads of state in San Francisco, the diplomats will also address “the boundary between national security and economic activities,” the statement says.
The Taiwan question remains a top priority, or as Beijing puts it, “the first and foremost red line that must not be crossed in China-U.S. relations.”
In recent years, China has criticized the United States for what it considers “provocative moves” toward the Taiwan region, including arms sales, visits by high-ranking officials, and support for “Taiwan independence” forces, actions which China has met with “resolute countermeasures.”
Reference(s):
cgtn.com
