China’s president Xi meets US security adviser Sullivan in bid to ease tensions

President Xi Jinping of China met with US national security adviser Jake Sullivan on Thursday in Beijing, on a visit with the stated aim of keeping communications open between the two powers, as the relationship between China and the United States has become increasingly tense in recent years.

Mr Sullivan, on his first trip to China in his capacity as the main adviser to President Joe Biden on US national security issues, also met with senior Chinese officials including foreign minister Wang Yi and a senior general of the Central Military Commission.

China and the US have become increasingly at odds over various issues, starting with a trade war dating back to 2018, and which now encompasses global security matters, such as China’s claims over the South China Sea, and industrial policy on things like automobile and solar panel manufacturing.

Both sides said on Thursday that they remain committed to managing the relationship. Mr Xi and Mr Biden met in San Francisco last November in an effort to improve ties.

“Although the situations of the two countries and China-US relations have changed greatly, China’s goal of being committed to the stable, healthy and sustainable development of China-US relations has not changed,” Mr Xi said, according to state broadcaster CCTV.

“President Biden is committed to responsibly managing this consequential relationship to ensure that competition does not veer into conflict or confrontation, and to work together where our interests align,” Mr Sullivan said.

Beijing and Washington will also plan for a phone call in the coming weeks between Mr Xi and Mr Biden, the White House said on Wednesday.

The White House statement said that both sides would keep lines of communication open.

There was no indication that the two leaders might meet in person before Biden leaves the Oval Office.

The White House said the two sides also planned to hold a military theatre commander phone call in the near future.

China has rapidly expanded its military, and there are concerns that Taiwan and the South China Sea are becoming flashpoints.

Mr Wang, China’s top diplomat, told Mr Sullivan that Taiwan’s independence poses the greatest threat to stability in the immediate region.

He demanded that the US “stop arming the island but support China’s peaceful unification,” according to a statement released by the Chinese foreign ministry.

Taiwan, a self-governing island democracy that split from authoritarian communist China in 1949, has rejected Beijing’s demands that it accept unification with the mainland by peace or by force.

The US is obligated under a domestic law to provide the island with sufficient hardware and technology to deter invasion.

The White House statement said Mr Sullivan “underscored the importance of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait”.

Mr Sullivan planned to meet with China’s vice chairman of the Central Military Commission, Zhang Youxia, on Thursday morning, according to a senior Biden administration official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the yet to be publicly announced meeting.

Zhang has spoken in the past of Beijing’s determination to take control of Taiwan. At an international naval gathering earlier this year in northeast China, Zhang said China would strike back with force if its interests came under threat.