US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan arrived in Beijing on Tuesday for a three-day visit, marking the first trip by a White House national security adviser to China in eight years. His visit is seen as a preparatory step for a potential summit between US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping amid escalating US-China tensions and a volatile US election season.
State broadcaster CCTV reported Sullivan’s arrival, describing the visit as a crucial step to advance agreements made during the leaders’ meeting in San Francisco last November.
Upon arrival, Sullivan was greeted at Beijing airport by Yang Tao, the director general of the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s Department of North American and Oceanian Affairs, and US Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns. Yang and Sullivan shook hands and exchanged brief words, as seen in a video posted on Weibo by a CCTV-associated news blogger.
During his visit, Sullivan is scheduled to meet with his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, marking their fifth meeting since last year. Further, they are expected to address various contentious issues, including Taiwan, the South China Sea, the US fentanyl crisis, and China’s alleged support for Russia’s defense sector, which Beijing denies.
Wang is also likely to discuss China’s concerns about what it views as America’s “arbitrary measures,” including tariffs, export controls, and unilateral sanctions, which target China’s high-tech development and perceived “overcapacity” in manufacturing.
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