Top White House official in Beijing for talks with foreign minister

U.S. President Joe Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan arrived in China on Tuesday on a three-day trip that includes talks with Foreign Minister Wang Yi, and comes after complaints from China’s neighbors about what they see as its territorial intrusions.

Sullivan and Wang “will hold a new round of China-U.S. strategic communication,” according to China’s foreign ministry, exchanging views on bilateral relations, “sensitive issues” and “major international and regional hotspots.”

A senior White House official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told reporters on Friday that Sullivan and Wang would discuss a range of topics including areas of disagreement, such as Taiwan, Ukraine and the Middle East.


RELATED STORIES

Top White House official to visit China

Philippines, China clash near disputed shoal in South China Sea

Philippines joins US-led allies in multilateral maneuvers in South China Sea


The visit comes amid protests by U.S. allies Japan and the Philippines about what they say are Chinese incursions.

Japan said a Chinese Y-9 reconnaissance plane entered Japanese airspace for two minutes on Monday, which Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi described as “utterly unacceptable.”

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian said on Tuesday China was trying to verify the report, adding that its military had “no intention of intruding” into any country’s airspace.

Meanwhile, Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. said on Tuesday that China was “the biggest disrupter” of peace in Southeast Asia.

His comments came after a clash on Sunday between Philippine and Chinese vessels near a disputed reef in the South China Sea.

US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan is welcomed by Director General of the Department of North American and Oceanian Affairs of the Foreign Ministry Yang Tao (C) and US Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns (L) upon arriving at the Beijing Capital International Airport in Beijing on Aug. 27, 2024. (Ng Han Guan/POOL/AFP)

Sullivan was greeted at Beijing’s Capital Airport by the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s North American and Oceanian department head Yang Tao, and U.S. ambassador Nicholas Burns.

His trip is the first official visit to China and the first by a national security adviser since Susan Rice went to Beijing under the Obama administration in 2016.

Sullivan and Wang have met in Washington, Vienna, Malta and Bangkok over the past 18 months.

Edited by Mike Firn.

Editor

Recent Posts

Climate ‘flashpoint’ looms for Trump’s China-centric focus on Pacific: US analysts

Growing U.S. security and diplomatic ties with Pacific island nations are unlikely to slow even…

6 hours ago

Exclusive: How Chinese nationalism is sending jitters through the Arctic

This story was reported with the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation. Read their story hereOn an early…

18 hours ago

Residents of Kamala Harris’s ancestral Indian village are disappointed with her loss

Residents in Kamala Harris’s ancestral village expressed disappointment at her defeat in the U.S. presidential…

1 day ago

The New Star War? Key to Winning the AI and Semiconductor Race

In March 1983, US President Ronald Reagan delivered his iconic Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) speech,…

2 days ago

Myanmar junta chief seeks China’s help on border stability

Read RFA coverage of these topics in Burmese.Myanmar’s junta leader called on China to help…

2 days ago

2024 US election live updates: Reactions from Asia

What you need to knowThe U.S. presidential election is being keenly watched across Asia. The…

2 days ago

This website uses cookies.