US national security adviser will meet China’s top diplomat this week in Switzerland, confirms White House

Talks between Jake Sullivan and Yang Jiechi, expected on Wednesday, to cover how to ‘responsibly manage competition’ between the two nations, a spokeswoman says

The possibility of an in-person summit between US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping may also be discussed

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The White House has confirmed that US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan will meet this week with China’s top diplomat, Yang Jiechi, in Zurich, Switzerland. Photo: AFP

Published: 2:47am, 6 Oct 2021Updated: 6:18am, 6 Oct 2021

The White House confirmed on Tuesday that US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan will meet with China’s top diplomat, Yang Jiechi, in Europe this week, as the two sides seek to reduce the soaring tensions between them.

Sullivan and Yang will meet in Switzerland to discuss efforts by the two sides to “responsibly manage the competition between the United States and the People’s Republic of China,” Emily Horne, a National Security Council spokeswoman, said in confirming an earlier report by the South China Morning Post.

Horne said that the meeting would follow up US President Joe Biden’s September 9 telephone call with Chinese President Xi Jinping, when the leaders discussed the risk of bilateral friction veering into unintended conflict amid continuing confrontations on issues including Taiwan, trade, technology, and human rights in Hong Kong and Xinjiang.

Katherine Tai, the US trade representative, speaking on Monday at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, discussed the Biden administration’s review of its China trade policy. Photo: Bloomberg

Sullivan and Yang, a member of the Chinese Communist Party’s Politburo, are to meet in Zurich just after the Biden administration formally unveiled its long-anticipated review of its China trade policy.

On Monday, United States Trade Representative Katherine Tai said that Beijing had failed to live up to commitments made in last year’s “phase one” trade deal, and indicated that US tariffs on Chinese imports would remain in place, with the possibility of targeted exclusions.