United States National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan met with a top Chinese military official in an effort to prevent conflicts over the South China Sea and Taiwan. The meeting followed the announcement of a planned phone call between Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Joe Biden.
Sullivan's visit aimed to stabilize bilateral relations and avoid potential conflicts. He held talks with Wang Yi, China's foreign minister, and the ruling Communist Party's top foreign policy official. Additionally, Sullivan met with Gen. Zhang Youxia, one of two vice chairs of the Central Military Commission, which Xi Jinping personally heads.
The meeting highlighted the importance of military security and the relationship between the two countries' militaries. Both sides acknowledged progress in military communications over the past ten months and agreed to hold a theater-level telephone call between military commanders in the near future.
China had suspended communication with the U.S. military following a visit by then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan in August 2022. Talks resumed gradually after a meeting between Xi and Biden in November outside San Francisco.
The planned theater-level call would involve Adm. Samuel Paparo, head of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, and his Chinese counterpart. This dialogue is crucial for crisis prevention, although the Chinese military had initially resisted it.
The White House and Chinese Foreign Ministry statements indicated a commitment to maintaining open lines of communication and planning for leader-level calls in the near future. The possibility of an in-person meeting between the two leaders before Biden's term ends was not confirmed.
