The News
Plans are underway for US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping to hold a virtual summit “in the coming weeks” following White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan’s visit to Beijing.
Sullivan and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi also agreed to hold further security talks involving top military commanders in an effort to calm tensions in the Taiwan Strait and South China Sea, the White House said.
Establishing a direct line of communication with Beijing has been a priority for the Biden administration amid recent tensions over China’s aggressive handling of unlawful maritime border claims, particularly with the Philippines.
The US official also pressed Wang on China’s “unfair trade policies” and Beijing’s support for Russia’s military actions in Ukraine during the meeting.
“The United States will continue to take necessary actions to prevent advanced U.S. technologies from being used to undermine our national security, without unduly limiting trade or investment,” Sullivan said, according to a White House readout.
Wang said the US must respect China’s sovereignty and political decisions, calling on Washington to “stop suppressing China in economics, trade and science and technology.”
Sullivan’s visit could set the stage for improving China-US cooperation should Democratic nominee Kamala Harris be elected in November.
“China has used the opportunity [of Sullivan’s visit] to reiterate its positions on bilateral relations, in the hope to set rules for the next administration,” one China watcher told The Washington Post.