US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan met with Chinese diplomacy chief Yang Jiechi in Luxembourg on Monday and urged Washington and Beijing to maintain open lines of communication to manage the competition, the White House said.
The meeting comes as relations between China and the United States are experiencing tense moments, with the world’s two largest economies disagreeing over everything from Taiwan and China’s human rights record to military activities in the South China Sea.
“This meeting, which follows their May 18 phone call, included frank, substantive and productive discussions on a range of global and regional security issues, as well as important issues in US-China relations,” the statement said. by the White House.
Last month, President Joe Biden said the United States could become involved militarily if China attacks Taiwan, although the administration has clarified that US policy on the matter has not changed.
The Chinese government says that Taiwan, which is self-governing, belongs to China, and has already promised to retake the territory by force if necessary. Washington has long had a policy of strategic ambiguity about whether or not to defend Taiwan militarily.
Earlier this month, US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said Biden had asked his team to look into the option of lifting some of the tariffs on Chinese goods set by former President Donald Trump as a way to combat the current high inflation.
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