Exclusive | China-US relations: superpowers jostle for position of strength in planning senior official’s visit

A proposed trip to Tianjin by US deputy secretary of state Wendy Sherman depends on guaranteed access to power and protocols being followed
Negotiations could be complicated with Washington expected to impose new sanctions on Chinese officials and to warn US firms operating in Hong Kong

US-China relations

SCMP Reportersin in Beijing and Washington

Published: 4:01pm, 16 Jul 2021

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China is still preparing to host US deputy secretary of state Wendy Sherman in Tianjin later this month, although the two sides are haggling over protocol details and are not yet ready to make an official announcement.

Sources said plans for Sherman, the second most senior official in the State Department, to visit China following her trips to East Asia were still on. The American side wants to ensure she has direct access to top decision makers, according to one of the sources familiar with the arrangement.

“The Chinese and American sides are currently discussing details of the meeting. The meeting is still on for now,” another source said.

The quibbling over details reflects Washington’s belief that it needs to come to the meeting on a strong footing with Beijing. While the Chinese side is making necessary preparations for the meeting to take place, the two sides would jointly announce her trip only when all details were finalised, the first source said.

The US State Department on Thursday said Sherman would travel to Japan, South Korea and Mongolia from July 18 to 25 to discuss a wide range of issues, including pandemic response and climate change. Her trip to China, if it happens, would take place immediately after that.

Sources said China planned for Xie Feng, a foreign vice-minister in charge of US affairs, to meet Sherman. Xie served as the foreign ministry commissioner in Hong Kong and has also been a foreign ministry “point person” on Xinjiang – two key issues troubling China-US relations.

To show China’s sincerity, Foreign Minister Wang Yi would also receive Sherman. But the American side wants Sherman to have greater access to President Xi Jinping’s inner circle.

Vice-foreign minister in charge of US affairs, Xie Feng. Photo: AFP

In an event at Stanford University in May, Kurt Campbell, the White House’s Indo-Pacific policy director, expressed frustration that the US had not been able to talk to Xi’s confidantes.

The negotiation could be further complicated with Washington expected to impose fresh sanctions on a number of Chinese officials over Hong Kong and to issue a warning to US businesses operating in the city about allegedly deteriorating conditions. Beijing will certainly respond in kind if that happens. This could chill ties even further.

The protocol negotiations echo a failed meeting between the two countries’ top military brass. Earlier this year, the US wanted Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin to meet General Xu Qiliang, the second most senior Chinese military official after Xi – the president is also chairman of the Central Military Commission.

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But the Chinese side refused the request and offered Austin a meeting with General Wei Fenghe, the Defence Minister, who ranks behind Xu in the military hierarchy. The meeting did not proceed because the two sides could not reach an agreement.

Both occasions show the importance attached to diplomatic protocols for the two rivals – neither side wants to appear weak or disadvantaged when coming to a meeting.

If the Sherman talks go ahead, she is expected to discuss the possibility of a meeting between US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Foreign Minister Wang. That in turn will pave the way for a long-anticipated summit between President Xi and his US counterpart, Joe Biden.

And it will mark the first face-to-face talks between the countries’ senior diplomats after their fiery exchange in Alaska in March.

Xi and Biden will both attend the Apec forum in New Zealand on Friday but their virtual attendance means there will be no chance for them to meet at a sideline event. There is speculation they may hold talks during the G20 meeting in Rome in October – whether Sherman visits China will be the most telling sign if that might happen.

Both Beijing and Washington have been jostling to secure the upper hand as their rivalry grows. The US said it would engage China from a position of strength and up the ante on rallying its allies to contain China while Beijing insisted it would not back down and urged Washington to show sincerity.

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The two powers have been at odds over issues including the South China Sea, human rights in Xinjiang, Hong Kong and Taiwan, and technology, though some cooperation is expected on climate change, Iran and North Korea.

On Thursday, the US Air Force sent a transport aircraft for a short stopover in Taipei, another move that has angered Beijing and shows Washington’s closer ties with the island.

In Tokyo, Sherman will meet Japanese vice-foreign minister Takeo Mori and Korean first vice-foreign minister Choi Jong-kun to discuss cooperation on issues such as North Korea, climate change and the Covid-19 pandemic, according to the US State Department.

It is not clear if the Taiwan issue will be discussed. Sherman will then travel to Seoul and hold talks with Korean officials on issues including pandemic relief and the post Covid-19 economic recovery before going to Ulaanbaatar.

The US said the trip to Mongolia was to reinforce the strategic partnership and discuss “our shared values of democracy and human rights, including freedom of religion or belief and respect for traditional cultural identity and practice” – a subtle dig at accusations Beijing is trying to suppress traditional culture in Inner Mongolia.

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: China still preparing to host US diplomat