On Wednesday, August 29, the U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, who is visiting Beijing, met with Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping.
Sullivan is the first U.S. National Security Advisor to be invited to visit China in eight years, and he is the only White House official to meet with the top leader of China and the Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission of the Chinese Communist Party during his visit.
During the approximately one-hour meeting with Xi Jinping, Sullivan reiterated the Biden administration’s commitment to prevent the competition between the U.S. and China from “turning into conflict or confrontation”.
According to a statement from the White House, “This meeting is part of ongoing efforts to maintain communication channels and responsibly manage U.S.-China relations.”
On the agenda, the Biden administration stated that both sides discussed further implementing the commitments made at the Biden-Xi 2023 Woodside Summit, including drug control, military communication, and artificial intelligence security and risks.
The White House also mentioned that they discussed issues related to the Taiwan Strait, Russia’s war in Ukraine, and the South China Sea.
“The two parties welcome the continued efforts to keep communication channels open, including plans for a Biden-Xi call in the coming weeks,” the White House statement said.
According to the official Chinese state news agency Xinhua, the Chinese Communist Party once again emphasized the need for the U.S. and China to “work towards each other” while also needing to “move forward together with the Chinese side”.
For a long time, Beijing has complained that the U.S. has been trying to cut off China’s access to advanced technologies, including semiconductors, and has taken measures to cooperate with allies on security and economic issues.
In the final months of his presidency, Biden has been promoting direct diplomacy. The recently passed Democratic Party platform also emphasizes a focus on domestic and foreign actions that will outcompete China.
“We seek to ‘reduce risks’ and achieve diversification in the economic relationship between the two countries, rather than decoupling,” the platform states.
At the core of the Biden-Harris administration’s China policy is Sullivan’s “small yard, high wall” strategy. He proposes that the U.S. engage in orderly competition with China while protecting a certain amount of sensitive American technology from being transferred to China through targeted restrictive measures. Additionally, cooperation with China in areas that align with U.S. and global interests, such as addressing climate change, combating fentanyl trafficking, and artificial intelligence.
After the three-day meetings, Sullivan, in a press conference, also highlighted Vice President Kamala Harris’s role in shaping the Asia-Pacific policy.
Harris succeeded Biden as the Democratic Party’s 2024 presidential candidate.
Sullivan specifically mentioned her role in the U.S.-China relationship, stating, “Vice President Harris has always been a core member of the Biden foreign policy team.”
In November 2022, at the APEC summit, Harris had a brief exchange with the Chinese Communist Party leader. She later took to social media to emphasize the need for both countries to responsibly handle their competitive relationship and keep communication channels open.
In September 2023, Harris and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang attended the East Asia Summit concurrently but did not hold an official meeting, and there were no reports of any brief exchanges between them in the media.