Jake Sullivan, the president’s national security adviser, will travel to Beijing, China, next week to meet with the Chinese foreign minister and other high-level officials in what marks the first time in nearly a decade that someone in his position has gone to the country.
Sullivan will be in China from Aug. 27 to 29, and he will meet with Foreign Minister Wang Yi for the fifth time since the administration began, according to a senior U.S. administration official.
“These meetings are consistent with efforts to maintain this strategic channel of communication to responsibly manage the relationship and are a product of the November 2023 Woodside Summit between President Biden and President Xi,” NSC spokesman Sean Savett said in a statement.
The two leaders most recently met in Bangkok in January. Prior to that, they met in Washington, D.C., in October 2023, in Malta in September 2023, and in Vienna in May 2023. Between those engagements, President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping met in San Francisco in November 2023.
The official said Sullivan’s trip shouldn’t be associated with the presidential election. Rather, Sullivan and Yi meet “about once a quarter, [and] the last one was in January.”
“Each time the two have met, they have typically spent about 10 to 12 hours over two days covering bilateral issues, global regional issues, and cross-strait issues. We expect to follow the same format in Beijing next week,” the official said.
Susan Rice was the last national security adviser to travel to China in 2016.
The United States views China as a competitive threat that could attempt to rewrite the international rules-based order. The Pentagon describes the Chinese military as its “pacing challenge.” China’s military has become increasingly aggressive toward other Pacific nations with ties to the U.S. as it relates to utilizing the waterways nearby.
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Despite the competition and threats posed, the two sides have found ways to cooperate on some matters they’re on the same side of, such as countering the production and distribution of narcotics.
The Biden administration has also accused China of indirectly supporting Russia’s war in Ukraine by aiding Russia’s defense industrial base, even as Beijing officials claimed to be a neutral arbiter. Sullivan is expected to bring the topic up during his visit, according to the senior official.
