Senior US diplomats visit China in wake of Bali talks but little hope of a full thaw

Name: Xi hopes to work with Biden to bring China-US relations back to ‘healthy, stable development’
Uploaded: 2022-12-11T13:00:14.000Z
Duration: 2 min 59 s
Description: Xi hopes to work with Biden to bring China-US relations back to ‘healthy, stable development’

US State Department says the trip, yet to be confirmed by Beijing, aims to manage bilateral rivalry and ‘explore potential areas of cooperation’

Concrete outcomes on trade, military and other thorny issues unlikely as both sides focus on core interests, observers say

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Chinese President Xi Jinping (left) and US President Joe Biden reach out to shake hands before their meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit on in Bali, Indonesia, on November 14. Photo: AP

Shi Jiangtao

Published: 9:00pm, 11 Dec 2022Updated: 9:05pm, 11 Dec 2022

A group of senior US diplomats arrives in China today in an effort to halt a steep decline in ties and prepare the ground for a planned visit by Secretary of State Antony Blinken early next year.

Observers described the trip, the first such exchange in months, as “a continuation of the Bali talks”, referring to President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart Joe Biden’s first in-person meeting on the margins of the G20 summit last month.

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Xi hopes to work with Biden to bring China-US relations back to ‘healthy, stable development’

The US delegation is being led by Daniel Kritenbrink, assistant secretary of state for East Asia and the Pacific, and Laura Rosenberger, senior director for China and Taiwan at the National Security Council. Both attended the leaders’ meeting in Indonesia.

The China trip is part of a whirlwind December 11-14 visit to Asia that will also take in close US allies South Korea and Japan.

According to the US State Department on Saturday, the trip aims to “continue responsibly managing the competition” between the two countries and “to explore potential areas of cooperation”. Beijing has yet to confirm the visit.

Shi Yinhong, an expert on international affairs at Beijing’s Renmin University, said both sides were realistic about what to expect from such a brief trip.