The White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan is set to visit China next week for meetings with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and other officials. This information was first reported by American media Axios, citing three informed sources.
Sullivan’s meeting with Wang Yi is expected to pave the way for a possible meeting later this year between President Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping, following up on last November’s California summit. Sullivan is scheduled to conduct high-level talks in Beijing from August 27 to 29.
CNN also obtained information about Sullivan’s visit to China from an insider. Sullivan is expected to have a multi-day visit and is anticipated to meet with several senior Chinese officials during his visit.
After President Biden announced his withdrawal from the presidential race in July, he expressed his intention to dedicate more time to foreign affairs. It is expected that Biden and Xi Jinping will both attend the G20 summit of world leaders in Brazil in November following the U.S. election. Additionally, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) member countries’ leaders are expected to convene in mid-November in Peru, which could also facilitate a meeting between the two leaders.
Sullivan’s visit to China comes as the U.S. enters the final stages of the presidential race. Both parties have adopted tough stances on China policy, particularly regarding tariff issues.
While Democratic presidential candidate and current Vice President Kamala Harris has closely followed Biden’s China policy, foreign leaders are eager to understand more about her foreign policy priorities.
During his campaign, Republican presidential candidate and former President Trump proposed imposing a 60% tariff on all Chinese imports and made it clear that he views Communist China as a significant economic threat.
If confirmed, this will be Sullivan’s first visit to China as White House National Security Advisor, as part of a series of high-level diplomatic actions aimed at stabilizing U.S.-China relations.
In recent years, Sullivan and Wang Yi have held meetings approximately every six months to maintain open channels of communication between the U.S. and China. The two officials last met in January in Zurich. Since then, the Biden administration has announced it will maintain a series of comprehensive import tariffs on Chinese goods.
A U.S. official told CNN that discussions about a meeting between Biden and Xi Jinping are still in the early stages, and it is uncertain whether the two leaders will expand their bilateral meeting before the end of Biden’s presidency.