China-US ties: Beijing and Washington diplomats overseeing Asian affairs meet in sign of more open communication
South China Morning Post
5 min read
Two senior Chinese and US diplomats held an "in-depth" exchange on regional issues in Washington, the latest sign that both sides are engaging in more open channels of communications.
Sun Weidong, China's Vice-Foreign Minister for Asia, met Daniel Kritenbrink, US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs in Washington, the US State Department said in a statement on Thursday night.
The talks were held as a Chinese trade council warned future high-level meetings could be at risk from a US executive order curbing investment in sensitive technologies in China.
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The two diplomats in charge of their nations' Asian affairs held a "candid, in-depth and constructive consultation on regional issues as part of continuing efforts to maintain open lines of communication," the statement said.
They discussed issues related to Taiwan, the most contentious issue in Sino-US relations.
Kritenbrink "reaffirmed the importance of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait," the statement said, adding that the two sides also discussed regional issues such as Myanmar, North Korea and maritime matters.
China's foreign ministry said the talk on Wednesday was based on bilateral consensus and was at the invitation of the US side.
Sun elaborated on China's position on the Taiwan issue, stressing that the one-China principle was the cornerstone of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, the foreign ministry said in a statement.
He also stated China's position on several issues, including the US "Indo-Pacific Strategy" and the South China Sea.
"Positive interaction between China and the United States in the Asia-Pacific is in line with the common interests of the two sides and is also the common aspiration of regional countries," the statement said, adding that both sides would continue to maintain communication on Asia-Pacific affairs.
The talk is the latest exchange in a string of bilateral high-level engagements in recent months involving senior officials from both countries.
Last week, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met Chinese Vice-President Han Zheng in New York, and the two committed to "maintaining open lines of communication, including follow-on senior engagements in the coming weeks".
And Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi had "candid, substantive and constructive" talks with US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan for two days in Malta, where they discussed Taiwan, the Russian war in Ukraine and additional high-level engagements.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday that Beijing and Washington were paving the way for a US visit by Chinese Vice-Premier He Lifeng. He would be the highest-ranking Chinese official to visit the US if the trip eventually materialised.
Foreign Minister Wang Yi is also planning a trip in October to prepare for the Xi-Biden talks, the Journal said, quoting people familiar with the situation.
The talk between Sun and Kritenbrink took place after the US hosted the second US-Pacific Islands Forum at the White House this week. New initiatives from the US unveiled at the summit are widely seen as a charm offensive to counter China's inroads into this region deemed strategically crucial by Washington.
Kritenbrink emphasised the "importance of a free and open, connected, prosperous, resilient, and secure Indo-Pacific region and upholding the rules-based international order" when meeting Sun, the statement added.
In the past year, China has increased economic and political activity in the region and competition between Washington and Beijing has risen in the southern Pacific after the Solomon Islands last year signed a security pact with Beijing - the first such agreement in the region.
"We approached the region from the perspective of advancing our affirmative agenda to shared interests and values that we hold in common with our Pacific partners. That's our focus, not any notion of focusing on a third party," Kritenbrink said during a press briefing on Thursday, attempting to dispel notions that the US strategy in the Pacific was aimed at China.
"Our message to partners in the region is that we're not asking countries to choose, we're in the business of trying to ensure that countries have the ability to make their own sovereign decisions and their own choices free from coercion."
In the trade arena, a Chinese body on Friday said US restrictions on investing in Chinese tech might be an own goal.
The China Council for the Promotion of International Trade said normal commercial exchanges between the two countries and the security and stability of the global industrial chain would be jeopardised by the US executive order banning certain investments in China in sensitive technologies.
"China plays an important and prominent part in the global industrial chain of semiconductors, artificial intelligence and quantum information technology. The US side's self-imposed restrictions will hurt US companies in international competition, impede technological progress and ultimately harm its self-interest," a council spokesperson said.
