Jake Sullivan meets senior Chinese military official Zhang Youxia in Beijing as Sullivan is on an official visit to China.
Zhang Youxia, China’s highest-ranking military official, held a meeting with U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan during Sullivan’s visit to Beijing. The interaction was captured in video footage released by Chinese media, confirming the meeting.
Zhang, who serves as the vice-chair of the Central Military Commission, is the highest-ranking Chinese military official to meet with a U.S. representative from the Biden administration. Sullivan’s visit marks the first by a White House national security adviser to China in eight years and will conclude on Thursday.
Notably, U.S. President Joe Biden, who is nearing the end of his term, has not visited China, making him the first president since Jimmy Carter to do so. The White House announced that Biden and China’s President Xi Jinping are expected to have a phone conversation “in the coming weeks.”
Recent tensions between U.S. and China
The meeting between Zhang and Sullivan occurs against the backdrop of recent tensions between China and the Philippines near disputed areas in the South China Sea, with the U.S. reaffirming its commitment to defending Manila under the US-Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty. Thereby, the two countries also remain at odds over Taiwan, with Beijing urging the U.S. to cease arms sales to Taipei.
Furthermore, Beijing views Taiwan as a part of China, to be reunified by force if necessary, and has consistently emphasized that Taiwan is a critical “red line” in U.S. China relations. While most countries, including the U.S., do not officially recognize Taiwan as an independent state, Washington opposes any attempt to reunify Taiwan by force and is legally obligated to provide arms to help the island defend itself.
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