Jake Sullivan, the United States national security adviser, will meet with Wang Yi, the Chinese foreign minister, on Friday and Saturday. That meeting will take place in the Thai capital Bangkok, Washington and Beijing report.
The meeting comes in the wake of US President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping’s pledge to resume military communications between the two countries. The two met in November 2023 in Woodside, south of San Francisco. Beijing and Washington also agreed at the time to be “responsible” in relations between their countries.
Last year, Sullivan and Wang held two secret meetings, in Vienna and Malta, to pave the way for Biden and Xi in November, Financial Times writes. Wang Yi is now traveling from Bangkok at the invitation and will remain in the country until January 29, his ministry said.
Ties between Washington and Beijing appear to have stabilized to some extent in recent months, but tensions remain high in certain areas. For example, both countries closely followed the Taiwanese presidential elections last month. Washington is an ally of the island state and warns China to refrain from any possible aggression. William Lei, also known as Lai Ching-te, of the China-critical Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) was elected president.
In addition to the Sino-American meeting, a meeting is also planned for Friday between Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong and his North Korean counterpart Choe Son Hui.
Pyongyang has recently lashed out at South Korea and the US several times. North Korea sees an ally in Russia. Last year, Washington warned of “stronger and more dangerous” military cooperation between the two. Washington therefore called on Beijing to moderate Pyongyang. The Chinese and North Korean heads of state recently declared 2024 as the year of ‘friendship’ between the two countries.
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