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Prof. ST Hsieh

Director, US-China Energy Industry Forum

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ST HSIEH

June 13, 2022

It is good news that Sullivan-Yang met face to face again for four hours in Luxembourg yesterday. More positively, both sides expressed satisfactions on the meeting as candid, substantive, and productive discussion, and maintaining open lines of communication to manage competition between our two countries. This meeting as well as the meeting of US-China defense chiefs in Singapore over the weekend are signs that US and China relation is entering a rest phase. There is no doubt that US-China relation is still very challenged and contentious: they are more disagreements than agreements with a host of issues.

Sullivan-Yang meeting was NOT announced before the meeting took place. Most likely, both sides were not sure the meeting would go well. Chance of a provocative or unproductive meeting did exist.
The meeting place, Luxembourg is also interesting: it is about equal distance from Beijing as well DC, respectively. There is NO advantage for each side, it is highly symbolic as US and China are not at ease. It would be a great step forward if a Sullivan-Yang meeting happens in the US or China. With their ranks in the government, their meetings should be in DC and Beijing, alternatively.
This meeting is still about re-iterating each other’s bottom-lines that are well recognized already. But it assured each other that there is no deliberate intention, from each side, to cross other side’s red line. Peace is preserved for the time being!
But this meeting did NOT make any progress in settling any core difference between US and China, for example no bilateral high-level trade talk has been scheduled yet. US and China have not determined what are their common grounds yet.
A Biden-Xi summit is a must and should happen asap, but no one seems ready yet. It is not about US and/or China, but the world. Global recession is almost inevitable, it is better for the US and China coordinate before everyone gets hurt.

Readout of National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan’s Meeting with Politburo Member Yang Jiechi

JUNE 13, 2022•STATEMENTS AND RELEASES

National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan met today with Chinese Communist Party Politburo Member and Director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission Yang Jiechi in Luxembourg. This meeting, which followed their May 18 phone call, included candid, substantive, and productive discussion of a number of regional and global security issues, as well as key issues in U.S.-China relations. Mr. Sullivan underscored the importance of maintaining open lines of communication to manage competition between our two countries.

Senior Chinese diplomat meets US national security advisor

By XinhuaPublished: Jun 14, 2022 07:58 AM

Yang Jiechi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, met with U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan here on Monday.

The two sides conducted candid, in-depth, and constructive communication on China-U.S. relations, as well as other issues of common concern.

The two sides agreed to follow the important consensus reached by the two heads of state, step up contact and dialogue, reduce misunderstanding and miscalculation, and properly manage differences. Both sides agreed that maintaining unimpeded channels for communication is necessary and beneficial.

Yang, also director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee, noted that U.S. President Joe Biden has repeatedly told Chinese President Xi Jinping that the United States does not seek a new Cold War or aim to change China’s system, nor will it oppose China through strengthening alliances, support “Taiwan independence,” or intend to seek a conflict with China. The Chinese side attaches high importance to these statements, he said.

For some time, however, the U.S. side has been insisting on further containing and suppressing China in an all-round way. Such acts, instead of helping the United States solve its own problems, have plunged China-U.S. relations into a very difficult situation and severely damaged the exchanges and cooperation in bilateral areas, Yang said, stressing that such a situation conforms neither to the interests of the two sides nor other countries of the world.

China-U.S. relations are at a critical crossroads, noted Yang, saying that the three principles proposed by President Xi — mutual respect, peaceful coexistence, and win-win cooperation — are the correct approaches for China and the United States in getting along with each other, as the principles conform not only to the fundamental interests of the Chinese and the Americans, but also to the common aspiration of the international community. They ought to be fundamental rules for developing China-U.S. relations.

The Chinese side is ready to work together with the U.S. side to explore ways and methods to realize this vision, yet China firmly opposes using competition to define bilateral ties, Yang said.

He said the U.S. side should correct its strategic perceptions of China, make the right choices, and translate President Biden’s commitments into concrete actions, working together with the Chinese side in the same direction and concretely implementing the important consensus reached by the two heads of state.

Yang stressed that China takes an unambiguous and steadfast stand in safeguarding its national sovereignty and territorial integrity. China’s internal affairs brook no interference by other countries, and any attempts to thwart or undermine China’s national unity are doomed to fail, he said.

The Taiwan question concerns the political foundation of China-U.S. relations which, unless handled properly, will have a subversive impact, said the senior Chinese diplomat. The risk does not only exist but will escalate as the United States attempts to contain China with the Taiwan question, and as the Taiwan authorities rely on the United States to seek its “independence,” he added.

The U.S. side should not have any misjudgments or illusions, Yang said, adding that it must abide by the one-China principle and the stipulations in the three China-U.S. joint communiques and handle the Taiwan question in a prudent and proper way.

Yang also stated China’s solemn position on issues concerning Xinjiang, Hong Kong, Tibet, the South China Sea, as well as human rights and religion.

He stressed that the U.S. side ought to have benign interactions with the Chinese side and make concerted efforts in promoting prosperity, stability, and development in the Asia-Pacific region.

The two sides also exchanged views on international and regional issues such as Ukraine and the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue.

Biden officials visit with Chinese

© Getty

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan spent more than four hours on Monday meeting with China’s top diplomat in Luxembourg, while Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was in Thailand to meet with the prime minister. 

Sullivan meets with top Chinese diplomat

© AP

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan on Monday spent more than four hours meeting with China’s top diplomat, Yang Jiechi, in Luxembourg to discuss a range of topics, according to a senior administration official.   

Sullivan reiterated the Biden administration’s commitment to the “one China” policy as well as concerns about China’s “coercive and aggressive actions” across the Taiwan Strait, the official said, and warned against assisting Russia in its war in Ukraine.   

The issues: “The two shared their assessments of U.S.-China relations, including an exchange of views of how each side sees the dynamic between our two countries,” the official said, describing the meeting as “candid, in-depth, substantive, and productive.”   

Sullivan also raised concerns about China’s recent veto of a U.S. resolution at the United Nations Security Council that would have imposed new sanctions on North Korea following recent missile launches.  

“Jake made very clear that this is an area where we believe the United States and China should be able to work together,” the official said. 

Earlier: “The two shared their assessments of U.S.-China relations, including an exchange of views of how each side sees the dynamic between our two countries,” the official said, describing the meeting as “candid, in-depth, substantive, and productive.”   

Sullivan also raised concerns about China’s recent veto of a U.S. resolution at the United Nations Security Council that would have imposed new sanctions on North Korea following recent missile launches.  

“Jake made very clear that this is an area where we believe the United States and China should be able to work together,” the official said. 

The White House characterized Sullivan’s meeting with Yang as part of the administration’s broader effort to “responsibly” manage competition between the U.S. and China.   

“Mr. Sullivan underscored the importance of maintaining open lines of communication to manage competition between our two countries,” a White House readout said.   

The Hill

Biden official meets with China’s top diplomat for four hours in Luxembourg

Morgan Chalfant Mon, June 13, 2022, 12:48 PM

It is really good news that Sullivan-Yang met face to face for four hours in Luxembourg yesterday.

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan spent more than four hours on Monday meeting with China’s top diplomat, Yang Jiechi, in Luxembourg to discuss a range of topics, according to a senior administration official.

Sullivan reiterated the Biden administration’s commitment to the “one China” policy as well as concerns about China’s “coercive and aggressive actions” across the Taiwan Strait, the official said, and warned against assisting Russia in its war in Ukraine.

“The two shared their assessments of U.S.-China relations, including an exchange of views of how each side sees the dynamic between our two countries,” the official said, describing the meeting as “candid, in-depth, substantive, and productive.”

Sullivan also raised concerns about China’s recent veto of a U.S. resolution at the United Nations Security Council that would have imposed new sanctions on North Korea following recent missile launches.

“Jake made very clear that this is an area where we believe the United States and China should be able to work together,” the official said.

The meeting came just days after Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin met with Gen. Wei Fenghe, China’s minister of national defense, in Singapore and warned Beijing over its aggressive actions toward Taiwan.

Wei later criticized the U.S. in public remarks at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, accusing the U.S. of “smearing” China and warning against confrontation.

President Biden also recently took his first trip as president to Asia, where he unveiled a new framework to guide U.S. economic involvement in the Indo-Pacific that is widely viewed as an effort to counter China’s growing influence.

During that trip, Biden pledged to defend Taiwan militarily, a remark that signaled a shift in U.S. policy that the White House quickly sought to clarify.

The White House characterized Sullivan’s meeting with Yang as part of the administration’s broader effort to “responsibly” manage competition between the U.S. and China.

“Mr. Sullivan underscored the importance of maintaining open lines of communication to manage competition between our two countries,” a White House readout said.

Sullivan last spoke to Yang on May 18. The two also met in March in Rome, where Sullivan raised concerns about China’s alignment with Russia in the early days of its invasion of Ukraine.

That last meeting preceded a video call between Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping during which the American president warned China it would face consequences if it were to aid Russia in the war.

It’s unclear whether the White House is laying plans for another Biden-Xi meeting. The senior administration official answered that “nothing specific” is planned at this time but left the door open to a possible meeting.

Speaking later to reporters, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said there were no plans for a meeting between Biden and Xi but added that the administration “will continue to maintain open lines of communication with China.”

Updated 5:03 p.m.

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