Editorial | Break in high-level silence raises hopes for China-US ties
- Talks, described as candid, between Wang Yi and Jake Sullivan may have brought a widespread sigh of relief, but there is a long way to go yet
It is when they stop talking at all that rancorous relations between China and the United States become even more worrying. A communications vacuum does nothing to contain potential conflict.
The two sides have broken a troubling high-level silence with talks between top diplomat Wang Yi and US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan. This marks the resumption of dialogue ruptured in February by the incident involving the Chinese balloon over North America.
It is the highest-level engagement since presidents Xi Jinping and Joe Biden met last November. Both sides described the talks as candid, which means they aired differences, including on Taiwan and Russia’s war against Ukraine.
News of the talks brought a sigh of relief from elsewhere, amid concern over an unlimited confrontation. That was one reason they sat down to talk, and not just because they needed each other.
Even at the height of the Cold War the US and the former Soviet Union had regular meetings.
The thaw comes at a critical moment when Beijing and Washington have a lot to talk about. It includes the US debt-ceiling crisis, which will impact on the global economy no matter how it unfolds.