WASHINGTON – The Biden administration’s high safety adviser met with China’s high diplomat this week and pledged to maintain traces of communication open, the White House stated on Thursday, in one of many nations’ few high-level conferences since a dispute over an alleged Chinese spy balloon dented relations in February.
National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and Chinese high diplomat Wang Yi met in Vienna on Wednesday and Thursday and mentioned key bilateral and world safety points, together with Taiwan and Russia’s conflict in opposition to Ukraine, the White House stated in a press release.
It described the talks as “candid, substantive, and constructive” and “part of ongoing efforts to maintain open lines of communication and responsibly manage competition.”
The two sides “agreed to maintain this important strategic channel of communication to advance these objectives,” the assertion stated, including that the talks sought to construct on US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping’s assembly in Indonesia in November.
US-China ties have been on a downward slide over points starting from accusations of Chinese spying and human rights abuses to efforts by the US to construct up navy alliances to curb China’s ambitions towards Taiwan and within the Pacific.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken canceled a deliberate journey to Beijing after the US shot down a Chinese balloon that flew over delicate navy websites, plunging the rivals right into a diplomatic disaster.
Blinken’s journey had been supposed to assist restore relations after an earlier rupture over a go to by then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s to Taiwan, the self-governed island that China considers its personal.
The United States has expressed its eagerness to reschedule Blinken’s go to and organize different senior-level conferences as a part of an effort to maintain relations from veering towards battle.
Blinken did meet Wang Yi on the Munich Security Conference after the balloon incident, however this didn’t soothe tensions.
The Vienna assembly got here forward of an anticipated go to to Asia by Biden beginning with a G7 summit in Japan from May 19-21, which is able to search for nearer alignment of the group’s strategy in the direction of China.
Daniel Russel, the highest US diplomat for East Asia within the Obama administration, stated communication between the US nationwide safety adviser and the highest Chinese overseas affairs official has been traditionally necessary and immediately “appears to be virtually the only significant channel still operating.”
He stated the discreet assembly out of the media highlight and avoiding damaging public sparring seen prior to now was encouraging, however didn’t imply relations have been essentially on the mend, or {that a} go to by Blinken to Beijing or a cellphone name between Biden and Xi have been imminent.
“Both sides are delivering stern – sometimes angry – messages,” he stated, “but these meetings create the possibility they may find some common ground that can help stabilize a relationship that is dangerously volatile.” — Reuters
Source: www.gmanetwork.com
