Senior American and Chinese officials engaged in “candid” and “productive” discussions in China on Monday, according to readouts from both Washington and Beijing, as the two nations struggle to maintain communication in the face of intense friction.
Daniel Kritenbrink, assistant United States (US) secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, and Sarah Beran, senior director for China at the National Security Council, met with Ma Zhaoxu and Yang Tao, Chinese officials, on Monday. The officials met in Beijing “as part of ongoing efforts to maintain open lines of communication and build on recent high-level diplomacy between the two countries,” according to a State Department readout.
Mid-level talks amidst tense relations
Kritenbrink and Beran’s visit to the Chinese capital happens as the countries attempts to navigate the complexities of their relationship. Two days prior to the mid-level discussions, the US military accused China of “unsafe” maneuvers near a US naval vessel in the Taiwan Strait. A formal meeting between Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and his Chinese counterpart, Li Shangfu, on the margins of a security summit in Singapore was denied by Beijing last week, resulting in an apparent slight.
Positive and productive talks
The meetings between the assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, Daniel Kritenbrink, and Chinese officials, including Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu, were described as candid and productive in positive statements from both Washington and Beijing.
“The two sides conducted candid, constructive and fruitful communication on promoting the improvement of Sino-U.S. relations and properly managing and controlling differences,” the Chinese foreign ministry said in a statement on Tuesday of Kritenbrink’s meetings. According to the statement, both parties also agreed to maintain communication.
“The two sides had candid and productive discussions as part of ongoing efforts to maintain open lines of communication and build on recent high-level diplomacy between the two countries,” the U.S. State Department said late Monday. “The two sides exchanged views on the bilateral relationship, cross-Strait issues, channels of communication, and other matters. U.S. officials made clear that the United States would compete vigorously and stand up for U.S. interests and values,” the readout said.
China also clarified its “solemn position” on Taiwan and other major issues of principle, according to its readout, which added that the two sides agreed to continue communication. Vedant Patel, the principal deputy spokesperson for the State Department, stated on Monday that climate change, precursor chemicals from China used in the production of fentanyl, human rights, and unjustly detained three American citizens (Mark Swidan, Kai Li, and David Lin) were also discussed at the meeting.
Escalating friction between China and the US
In recent years, relations between Beijing and Washington have deteriorated over a number of issues, such as trade rules, the status of Taiwan, China’s claims in the South China Sea, and an ongoing US campaign against the expansion of Chinese influence in the Asia-Pacific region. Recent interactions between China and the United States demonstrated that both sides are attempting to manage disputes; however, the risk of clashes will increase if Washington does not cease its provocations and demonstrate sincerity in improving relations, according to the Global Times, a state-backed Chinese newspaper. “We’re working hard to manage the relationship as best as we possibly can,” said Kritenbrink, when asked by reporters in Beijing on Tuesday about the current state of bilateral ties.
In February, Secretary of State Antony Blinken canceled a trip to China after what Washington characterized as a Chinese spy balloon flew through U.S. airspace. Beijing insisted that the aircraft was a weather balloon that veered off course, but the United States does not concur with this explanation. This marked a sharp deterioration in the already strained relations. Asked if Blinken would visit China soon, Kritenbrink said: “We’ll see, I have nothing to announce.”
Both the US and Chinese officials claim they do not pursue confrontation or a new Cold War. In May, US Vice President Joe Biden predicted that a “thaw” would occur “very shortly” between the two countries.
Taiwan’s democratic self-government has become a major source of tension between the two nations. Saturday, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin warned that a conflict in the Taiwan Strait would be “devastating” and affect the global economy “in ways we cannot imagine,” while reiterating US support for the island’s democracy and the significance of deterrence. “The most dangerous thing is not to communicate and as a result, to have a misunderstanding, a miscommunication,” Blinken said at a press availability in Sweden last week after the US asserted that a Chinese fighter jet conducted a “unnecessarily aggressive maneuver” during an intercept of a US spy plane in international airspace.
On Sunday, the United States claimed a Chinese warship of cutting in front of an American vessel participating in a joint exercise with the Canadian navy in the Taiwan Strait, forcing the American vessel to slow down in order to prevent a collision. The Chinese defense minister charged the United States with “provocation.” John Kirby of the US National Security Council attributed the incidents to China’s military’s “increasing aggressiveness” on Monday.
Lastly, despite the escalating tension between the United States and China, the Beijing negotiations held between the officials of two nations were described as positive and productive. The goal of the talks, led by the delegates of both nations was to keep lines of communication open and resolve differences between the countries. Trade, Taiwan, and the South China Sea continue to be sources of tension despite the fact that both parties have expressed desire and started to give efforts to manage the relationship.
