The U.S. will send a high-level delegation to China in the coming days, following up on President Joe Biden’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping last month at the G20 meeting in Indonesia.
The move is to continue “responsibly managing the competition” between the two countries and “explore potential areas of cooperation,” the U.S. State Department said in a statement on Saturday. The visit will also prepare for Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s planned early 2023 trip to China.
The delegation will comprise Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Kritenbrink and National Security Council Senior Director for China and Taiwan Laura Rosenberger.
The two officials also plan to visit South Korea and Japan as part of their Dec. 11-14 Asian trip, to hold consultations on a “range of regional and bilateral issues,” the release said, without elaborating.
Last month, Biden and Xi held their first in-person meeting since the coronavirus pandemic rocked the world. Biden said both countries have a responsibility to “prevent competition from becoming anything ever near a conflict,” while Xi said the two sides “need to find the right direction” and “elevate the relationship.”
The two countries still have plenty of disagreements, including about Taiwan and over U.S. moves to limit China’s economic and technological advancement.
