US national security adviser Jake Sullivan and senior Chinese diplomat Wang Yi held talks in Vienna to try to stabilize relations between the countries, which have hit their lowest level since diplomatic relations normalized in 1979.
The White House said officials held “frank, substantive and constructive” discussions on Wednesday and Thursday on issues such as the United States-China relationshipglobal security issues, Russia’s war on Ukraine and Taiwan.
“Both parties have agreed to maintain this important strategic communication channel to advance these goals, building on the engagement between President Joe Biden and President Xi in Bali, Indonesia in November 2022,” said the White House.
According to the Chinese reading of the talks, Sullivan and Wang discussed “removing obstacles in China-US relations and stabilizing relations against deterioration.” Wang also “fully exposed” China’s position on Taiwan, according to the statement, which also mentions the war in Ukraine.
Wang and Sullivan met for more than eight hours over the two days, a senior US administration official said. Sullivan raised US concerns about China potentially providing lethal aid to Russia and focused on how to handle tensions related to Taiwan, which Beijing claims as part of its territory and has threatened to take by force.
The official said the United States was seeking to overcome tensions over the Chinese spy balloon incident, which led Secretary of State Antony Blinken to cancel a trip to Beijing in February. The official said Washington expects more engagements with Chinese officials in the coming months.
On the sidelines of the G20 summit in Bali, Biden and Xi agreed on the need to set a “floor” on the relationship and to ensure that competition does not “turn into conflict”, especially since tensions remain high on Taiwan.
But early efforts to revive high-level dialogue were derailed after the alleged spy balloon flew over North America before being shot down by the United States off South Carolina.
Blinken met Wang at the Munich Security Conference in February, but the discussions were tense and unproductive. He is now trying to reschedule his visit to China, while Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo are also trying to arrange trips to Beijing, but the two sides have failed to reach an agreement.
The Financial Times reported last month that China was reluctant to accept a visit from Blinken because it feared the FBI planned to release a report on the spy balloon incident following its analysis of recovered debris.
The FT reported on Thursday that Beijing had told Washington it was refuses to schedule a meeting between Li Shangfu, his defense minister, and his American counterpart Lloyd Austin at the Shangri-La Dialogue security forum in Singapore in June. China wants the United States to remove sanctions imposed on Li in 2018 as a precondition for any meeting.
The United States told Beijing that the restrictions, imposed in connection with China’s purchase of Russian fighter jets and missiles, did not prevent a meeting in a third country. But Beijing believes it would be inappropriate to agree to the talks while their defense minister remains under sanctions.
Several people familiar with the debate within the Biden administration have said there is no intention to lift Trump-era restrictions on Li.
Biden also tried to schedule a call with Xi. During the first two years of the administration, Sullivan repeatedly met with his then-counterpart Yang Jiechi in third countries for talks that often paved the way for a call, videoconference or in-person meeting between the presidents.
In another sign that relations may be improving slightly, Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang met US Ambassador Nicholas Burns in Beijing this week. U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai is also expected to meet Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao at an Apec trade meeting in Detroit later this month.
Several people familiar with the situation said that Xie Feng, China’s new ambassador to the United States, would arrive soon, possibly this month.
The post has been vacant for months after Qin left Washington to become China’s foreign minister.
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