UNITED STATES NEWS

Top White House official meets key Beijing diplomat amid signs of easing US-China tensions

May 11, 2023, 10:42 AM

WASHINGTON (AP) — White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan and senior Chinese foreign policy adviser Wang Yi held talks in Vienna this week, the latest in a series of small signs that tensions could be easing between the world’s two biggest economies.

The meeting was not publicized by Washington or Beijing ahead of the high-level talks that took place on Wednesday and Thursday. The White House described the discussions as “candid” and “constructive.”

As the political and military rivalry between China and the U.S. intensifies, American officials and analysts are worried that a lack of reliable crisis communications could cause a minor confrontation to spiral into greater hostilities. They cite the ability to communicate with the former Soviet Union as allowing the Cold War to end without a nuclear exchange.

Sullivan and Wang discussed “key issues” in the U.S.-China relationship, Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine, Taiwan, and more, according to the White House statement.

“This meeting was part of ongoing efforts to maintain open lines of communication and responsibly manage competition,” the White House said in a statement.

Tensions spiked last year following then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to democratically governed Taiwan. That visit, the first by a sitting House speaker since Newt Gingrich in 1997, led China, which claims the island as its territory, to launch military exercises around Taiwan.

U.S.-China relations became further strained earlier this year after the U.S. shot down a Chinese spy balloon that traversed the continental United States.

Beijing also was angered by Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen’s stopover in the U.S. last month that included an encounter with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif. The speaker hosted the Taiwanese leader at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in southern California.

But there are signs that the two sides are getting diplomatic communications back on track.

talks in Bali, Indonesia, in November. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was to travel to China in February, but the trip was postponed after the spy balloon incident. Blinken and Wang, China’s top diplomat, met later in February on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference after the U.S. had shot down the balloon.

The White House has expressed interest in rescheduling Blinken’s visit. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre earlier this week said that Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo also could visit Beijing at some point.

This weeks talks were the first face-to-face meeting between Sullivan and Wang, who was elevated last year to the Communist Party’s Politburo, the top policymaking body made up of the party’s 24 most senior officials.

Wang served as foreign minister for nearly 10 years and was the only diplomat promoted to the 24-member Politburo.

U.S. Ambassador Nicholas Burns and Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang also met in Beijing this week, and Biden’s special envoy for climate, John Kerry, held a call last month with his counterpart, Xie Zhenhua.

Burns, during a virtual forum hosted by the Stimson Center earlier this month, said communication is improving.

“Yes, we did have instances when we wanted to have certain very high-level conversations when it wasn’t possible,” Burns said. “But I have to say, in recent weeks, in the last month or so, there’s been a consistent communication between myself and senior officials in the foreign ministry, my colleagues in the U.S. mission and their counterparts in the foreign ministry here.”

United States News

Associated Press

Manslaughter charges thrown out in Michigan prisoner’s death

MUNISING, Mich. (AP) — A judge dismissed charges Monday against six people in the death of a Michigan prisoner who lost 50 pounds over two weeks and died of dehydration while being restrained in 2019. There was evidence of a lack of proper care for Jonathan Lancaster but not enough to send two former prison […]

19 minutes ago

Associated Press

Michigan woman will serve up to 5 years in prison for crash into icy pond that killed her 3 sons

HOLLAND TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — A western Michigan woman was sentenced to up to five years in prison Monday for a crash in which her three young sons drowned after her SUV plunged into an ice-covered pond. Leticia Gonzales had pleaded no contest in August to operating while intoxicated causing serious injury and three misdemeanor […]

2 hours ago

Associated Press

8 injured when JetBlue flight from Ecuador hits severe turbulence as it approaches Fort Lauderdale

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — A JetBlue flight from Ecuador to Fort Lauderdale hit extreme turbulence while approaching the Florida airport Monday, injuring seven passengers and a crew member, the airline said in a statement. JetBlue flight 1256 had traveled from Guayaquil, Ecuador, and was headed to Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport for a landing shortly […]

2 hours ago

Associated Press

Texas Walmart shooter agrees to pay more than $5M to families over 2019 racist attack

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A white Texas gunman who killed 23 people in a racist attack on Hispanic shoppers at a Walmart in 2019 agreed Monday to pay more than $5 million to families of the victims. Patrick Crusius was sentenced to 90 consecutive life sentences in July after pleading guilty to federal hate crime […]

3 hours ago

Associated Press

Democratic Sen. Menendez says cash found in home was from his personal savings, not bribe proceeds

UNION CITY, N.J. (AP) — Democratic U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey defiantly pushed back against federal corruption charges on Monday, saying nearly half a million dollars in cash authorities found in his home was on hand for emergencies and from his savings account, not from bribe proceeds. Rejecting rising calls for him to […]

4 hours ago

FILE - Traffic streaks by the Cuban Embassy in Washington early Saturday morning, Nov. 26, 2016. U....

Associated Press

Molotov cocktail is thrown at the Cuban Embassy in Washington, but there’s no damage and no injuries

WASHINGTON (AP) — At least one Molotov cocktail was thrown at the Cuban Embassy in Washington, but there was no significant damage and no one was injured. U.S. law enforcement officials were investigating. Secret Service officers were called around 8 p.m. Sunday to respond to the attack on a busy street in the Adams-Morgan section […]

7 hours ago

Sponsored Articles

...

DAY & NIGHT AIR CONDITIONING, HEATING AND PLUMBING

Importance of AC maintenance after Arizona’s excruciating heat wave

An air conditioning unit in Phoenix is vital to living a comfortable life inside, away from triple-digit heat.

...

re:vitalize

When most diets fail, re:vitalize makes a difference that shows

Staying healthy and losing weight are things many people in Arizona are conscious of, especially during the summer.

...

Mayo Clinic

Game on! Expert sports physicals focused on you

With tryouts quickly approaching, now is the time for parents to schedule physicals for their student-athlete. The Arizona Interscholastic Association requires that all student-athletes must have a physical exam completed before participating in team practices or competition.

Top White House official meets key Beijing diplomat amid signs of easing US-China tensions