Scoop: Sullivan to make first China visit next week
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Jake Sullivan, US national security adviser, at the White House Aug. 1, 2024. Ken Cedeno/UPI/Bloomberg via Getty Images
National security adviser Jake Sullivan will visit China next week to meet with Foreign Minister Wang Yi, according to three people familiar with the matter.
Why it matters: The two officials are expected to lay the groundwork for a potential final meeting between President Biden and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, later this year, to follow up on their California summit last November.
- After dropping out of the presidential race, Biden has indicated that he plans to spend more time on foreign affairs, including more international travel.
- Both presidents are expected to attend the G-20 leaders summit in Brazil after the U.S. election in November.
Driving the news: Sullivan's high-level visit, on Aug 27-29, comes as the U.S. is heading into the homestretch of a presidential campaign in which both parties have adopted tough-on-China position, especially on tariffs.
- While Vice President Harris has hewed closely to Biden's policies on China in internal administration debates, foreign leaders are eager to learn more about her foreign policy priorities.
- For his part, Trump has proposed 60% tariffs on all Chinese imports and made it clear he sees China as clear economic threat. He has also led both parties into adopting a more confrontational approach to Beijing.
- On Wednesday, Trump warned, without offering evidence, that the Chinese "are planning on attack on Taiwan right now.''
- "The world is on fire," Trump said at a rally in North Carolina.
Zoom out: At the outset of his term, President Biden made competing with China for influence and in areas like semiconductors central to his foreign policy, but also said establishing a solid U.S.-China bilateral relationship would be a key priority for his administration.
- Relations were strained when Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan in 2022 and after Beijing flew a spy balloon across the United States in early 2023.
- Biden and President Xi Jinping met in California last November to help improve ties. They agreed to restart a military-to-military hotline and work on curbing fentanyl production.
Zoom in: During Biden's presidency, Sullivan has met with Chinese officials in Rome, Luxembourg, Vienna, and Bangkok to discuss everything from military-to-military relations, to China's role in the Middle East, to the war in Ukraine.
- Earlier this month, an economic delegation led by Brent Neiman, the Treasury Department's assistant secretary for international finance, visited Beijing to discuss financial stability and global growth.
- Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has helped to establish two working groups to share information on the economy and generally keep lines of communications open.
Go deeper: In June Biden warned about the long-term challenges facing China's economy in a Time magazine interview.
