China and US set for talks to ‘stop competition veering off into conflict’ in wake of Joe Biden and Xi Jinping’s virtual summit

US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan says the two sides are ready for a strategic dialogue on setting up ‘guardrails’ to manage tensions

Sullivan was speaking in the wake of talks between the two countries’ leaders, who agreed to work to stabilise their relationship

2-MIN READ2-MIN

A Taiwanese jet shadows a PLA bomber. The island of Taiwan is a major potential flashpoint in US-China relations. Photo: Handout

Published: 11:00pm, 17 Nov 2021Updated: 12:59am, 18 Nov 2021

China and the US are expected to start a strategic dialogue to stop tensions spiralling out of control following this week’s virtual summit between Xi Jinping and Joe Biden.

Chinese analysis said the talks on crisis management could see them coming up with new measures to prevent conflict, but it would be hard to reach agreement on sensitive topics such as Taiwan and nuclear arms control.

Zhao Tong, a senior fellow at the Carnegie-Tsinghua Centre for Global Policy in Beijing, said: “Beijing and Washington have had different purposes in pursuing a stable Sino-US strategic relationship. For China, maintaining bilateral ties with the US is a key factor relating to its future development.”

US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan. Photo: Reuters

At the virtual summit, Xi and Biden agreed to “carry forward discussions on strategic stability”

Later on Tuesday, US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told a seminar hosted by the Brookings Institution think tank in Washington that both sides would begin series of high-level arms control talks that “cut across security, technology and diplomacy”.