Latest US-China talks seen as ‘progression’ of plans for Xi Jinping and Joe Biden summit
- Senior diplomats overseeing Asian affairs met in Washington on Thursday
- Analysts expect more discussions to pave the way for a Xi-Biden meeting
China’s foreign vice-minister for Asia Sun Weidong met the US assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, Daniel Kritenbrink, in Washington on Thursday, with the US calling the talks “candid, in-depth and constructive”.
According to the US Department of State, the two diplomats exchanged views on regional matters including the Taiwan Strait and emphasised the importance of keeping communication channels open.
Dylan Loh, an assistant professor of foreign policy at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, said the meeting suggested previous talks between US and Chinese officials had “more or less achieved” what they set out to achieve – to pave the way for more dialogue.
The latest meeting followed a series of high-profile talks between the rival powers. Last month, China’s top diplomat Wang Yi held long discussions with US national security adviser Jake Sullivan in Malta, while Chinese Vice-President Han Zheng held a separate meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in New York.
Top White House officials have also visited China in recent months, including Blinken, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and climate envoy John Kerry.
“Meetings between the US and China at any level are important and valuable,” said Loh, adding that recent talks were aiming towards a summit between Chinese President Xi Jinping and his American counterpart Joe Biden later this year.
Foreign Minister Wang said last week that Beijing was “communicating with all parties” on Xi’s attendance and that a decision would be announced “in due course”.
But last week’s talks between Sun and Kritenbrink have raised expectations of a Xi-Biden summit.
Alfred Wu, associate professor at the National University of Singapore’s Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, said previous ministerial-level talks suggested that the leaders would meet.
He said the talks on Thursday were likely to have been a “progression” from those meetings to firm up details for when the Chinese leader visited the US.
Wu said Beijing typically expected a detailed plan when its top leaders travelled.
“The Chinese side doesn’t want to see any loopholes [if Xi visits the US],” he said. “They want to make sure that things will go according to China’s plans and requests.”
Wu expected more such meetings to be held “very soon” for officials to lay the groundwork and iron out other elements for the much anticipated summit.
Last week, The Wall Street Journal reported that Beijing and Washington were making preparations for Chinese Vice-Premier He Lifeng to visit the US.
Beijing also has a pending invitation for its foreign minister to visit Washington, which was made public by Blinken when he was in Beijing in June.
Loh from NTU also said there would be more talks coming up if a Xi-Biden meeting was on the cards so that both sides could identify areas they can work on together.
“It is clear that the region is closely watching if a meeting between Biden and Xi will materialise because that would suggest that there is some sort of understanding against competition running amok or taking the relationship to the point that it breaks down irretrievably,” he said.
