Jake Sullivan to make first China visit as US national security adviser

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Jake Sullivan will make his first visit to China as US national security adviser next week for talks with foreign minister Wang Yi as part of the “strategic channel” created by the two superpowers to stabilise relations.

Sullivan will hold meetings with Wang from Tuesday, according to a US official. They last met in Bangkok in January, two months after President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping held a summit in San Francisco.

His visit is part of an effort to return the US-China relationship from the brink to an uneasy equilibrium after disruptions due to trade tensions, the coronavirus pandemic, the Ukraine war and a clash over a spy balloon.

The White House expects Wang to ask about the US election, which has taken a surprise turn since his last meeting with Sullivan, with vice-president Kamala Harris replacing President Joe Biden at the top of the Democratic party’s ticket.

The race between Harris and Donald Trump remains tight, with the former president threatening swingeing tariffs against Beijing should he be elected.

Over the past 16 months, Sullivan and Wang have held several unannounced meetings — in Vienna, Malta and Bangkok — in attempts to reduce the odds of the increasingly competitive relationship veering into conflict, particularly over Taiwan. They also met in Washington in October 2023 before the leaders’ summit.

The US official said Sullivan and Wang would discuss issues ranging from Taiwan and technology-related national security policies to US concerns about China’s support for Russia. The US will also raise concerns about aggressive Chinese actions towards the Philippines, a US ally, in the South China Sea.

“It’s partly about maintaining stability during a period of high political activity in the United States and . . . general geopolitical uncertainty,” said the official.

They said Wang would probably ask, “what does a baton pass from Biden to Harris look like” if she wins November’s election. The person said Sullivan would say that he expected “more continuity than change in China policy” under Harris.

The official said Sullivan and Wang would also discuss the possibility of Biden and Xi having a final engagement before the US president left office in January, adding that an in-person meeting was “not off the cards”.

“We haven’t proposed anything, but the notion that they would see each other one last time before the president leaves office . . . is not out of the question,” said the official, who noted that both leaders were likely to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum and G20 in November.

Biden and Xi agreed to set up the channel when they met in Bali, Indonesia, in late 2022. They also agreed to have a series of reciprocal visits by top officials. But the plans were derailed when a Chinese spy balloon flew over North America a few months later.

While the Sullivan-Wang channel has helped stabilise relations, the US and China remain at odds over many issues. China does not trust the Biden administration, which Chinese officials say has been disingenuous in calling for better relations while continuing Trump’s policies and strengthening US alliances in the region.

The US says China often criticises Washington for its approach without accepting the role its own policies have played.

However, China needs a more stable international environment as it relies on its export engine to steer its economy through the fallout from a deep property slump that is undermining household confidence.