The US National Security Advisor and top diplomat of the Biden Administration, Jack Sullivan, landed in Beijing today for a three-day visit, ending on Thursday, August 29. This is the first time that a US NSA has visited China since 2016. Although China has historically collaborated well with US NSAs as they receive less media spotlight, but are key decision-makers and are close to the President.
US-China relations have been at an all-time low for quite some time now and many key geopolitical differences remain among the two biggest powers. Resolving these is a herculean task and the rivalry will persist, but Sullivan would hope to ease tensions. He will be meeting the Chinese Foreign Minister, Wang Yi during his visit. The two have met four times in the last 18 months.
Upon arriving in Beijing today, Sullivan was welcomed by Yang Tao of China’s Foreign Ministry and US Ambassador Nicholas Burns.
He then met with China’s top diplomat Wang at a lush resort on the outskirts of Beijing where they shook hands in front of both the countries national flags. In his initial remark to the journalists, Wang described the China-U.S. relations as having many ‘twists and turns’ but critical to the world. He hoped the relations would become more stable and healthy. Sullivan too stated that both sides would talk of areas of agreement and disagreement that “need to be managed effectively and substantively,” before the two leaders headed for a closed-door meeting.
Various key agendas will be on the table during these crucial meets. Firstly, Sullivan is likely to press Beijing on its increasing “military, diplomatic and economic pressure” on Taiwan. China has not ruled out “unifying” Taiwan through force and has been particularly aggressive this year since President Lai Ching-te took over as President, who Beijing sees as a separatist. Secondly, the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war will certainly be a point of discussion as Washington hopes to again reiterate its concerns of Beijing’s growing defense partnership with Russia. Thirdly, China’s growing ambitions in the South China Sea and its security troubles with US allies in the region, like Japan and Philippines, will be a major talking point. Technology, military, trade, and a prospective summit between President Biden and President Xi Jinping will also be on the cards.
The visit is important as it comes only a few months ahead of the US Presidential Elections. The Republicans and Trump supporters, however, have repeatedly criticized the Biden Administration on its soft stand on China.
