White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan will travel to China next week to meet with the country’s foreign minister, Wang Yi, in their latest high-level meeting aimed at defusing tensions.
“These meetings are consistent with efforts to maintain this strategic communications channel and manage the relationship responsibly,” said Sean Savett, a spokesman for the National Security Council.
Mr. Sullivan’s visit will be his fifth face-to-face meeting with Mr. Wang, but his only trip to Beijing since the start of the Biden administration. It will also be the first by a U.S. national security adviser since Susan Rice traveled to China on behalf of President Barack Obama in 2016.
A senior administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity to comment on diplomatic talks, said Sullivan and Wang would discuss potential cooperation issues, such as efforts to curb the spread of fentanyl, as well as areas where the two countries are at odds, including the future of Taiwan.
A final meeting between President Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping before the end of Biden’s term is likely. The two last spoke this spring, after meeting in California in November.
Meetings last year between Mr Sullivan and Mr Wang helped restart diplomatic relations between the two countries after a troubled period, during which Mr Biden ordered the shooting down of a Chinese spy balloon flying over the United States in early 2023.
But despite a series of high-level talks since then that have eased tensions somewhat, the United States and China remain in what the Biden administration calls a competitive posture.
The administration has also expressed frustration over China’s support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and its lack of condemnation of the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel, which killed more than 1,200 people, including Americans.
The administration official said on Friday that Mr. Sullivan and Mr. Wang would also discuss military communications between the two countries, which had been suspended for months after the balloon episode. And the official said the two men would discuss ways to work together to ensure security and minimize the risks of artificial intelligence in the future.
The meeting – and a possible final summit with Biden – comes just months before the US election, in which voters will choose a new president and potentially change their policies toward China, especially if former President Donald J. Trump returns to the White House for a second term.
The official, speaking to reporters Friday, said Sullivan would not speak on behalf of a future administration or policy toward China.
