China, US planning to hold top-level talks in Hawaii, source says

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo expected to lead American delegation, with Politburo member Yang Jiechi set to head Chinese team, insider says

Meeting would be first face-to-face talks between top officials from the two sides since January and comes as tensions near boiling point

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Chinese Politburo member Yang Jiechi and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo are set to lead their respective sides in high-level talks in Hawaii. Photo: AFP

Published: 2:43pm, 13 Jun 2020Updated: 2:26pm, 14 Jun 2020

Top diplomats from China and the United States are set to meet in Hawaii, a source said, as the two sides seek to ease soaring tensions that have pushed their relationship to its lowest point in decades.

The Chinese side is expected to be led by Yang Jiechi, a member of the Communist Party Politburo, while Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will head the US team, the person said on condition of anonymity.

The exact details and date of the meeting had yet to be decided, the source said.

Political media firm POLITICO reported on Saturday that Pompeo was planning a trip to Hawaii to meet Chinese government officials, though the arrangements had yet to be finalised.

The report, which cited two unnamed sources, did not specify which officials Pompeo would meet.

Should the meeting go ahead it would be the first involving top officials from the two sides since their relationship was hit by fresh pressures over the Covid-19 pandemic, Hong Kong, the protests linked to the killing of George Floyd, and their mutual military activity in the Taiwan Strait and South China Sea.

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