President Xi Jinping meets with US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, August 29, 2024.    --Photo China Daily

Top Biden official meets President Xi in China visit to manage ties ahead of US election

BEIJING (China Daily/ANN) -- Both the United States and China have signalled that they are looking for stability, as the US nears a period of leadership transition following its presidential election this November.
Speaking with reporters after meeting Chinese President Xi Jinping at the end of a three-day Beijing trip on August 29, US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said such diplomatic efforts are meant to responsibly manage a competitive relationship.
Preventing competition from veering into conflict is work that is ongoing, he added. He also pledged to work towards reaching the end of US President Joe Biden’s administration “with the (US-China) relationship on a stable basis, even though we have areas of differences and difficulty”.
Mr Sullivan’s trip to China – the first by a US national security adviser in eight years – comes with the US in the midst of an evenly matched presidential election race between Vice-President Kamala Harris and former president Donald Trump.
Mr Sullivan said the upcoming election was not discussed in his conversations with Chinese leaders – “that’s obviously something for the American people to decide”, he added.
But on whether Chinese officials asked about a potential Harris administration, Mr Sullivan said he was able to share that she has been a “leading member” of Mr Biden’s foreign policy team, even as he would not characterise what their questions on Ms Harris were.
“She shares President Biden’s view that responsibly managing this competition so that it doesn’t veer into conflict or confrontation is essential. She also shares the view that maintaining high-level open lines of communication is the way that you can achieve that.”
Other than meeting Mr Xi, Mr Sullivan also had discussions over two days with top diplomat Wang Yi and met Central Military Commission vice-chairman Zhang Youxia.
Mr Sullivan noted that his visit was meant to help manage ties through the “sensitive period” of an upcoming change in administration.
Observers have said that Beijing does not have a clear preference between the two candidates. A tough stance on China – on issues ranging from trade to technology to Taiwan – has bipartisan support in Washington.
At their meeting on August 29, Mr Xi told Mr Sullivan that the US should view China and China’s development with a “positive and rational attitude”, and regard each other’s development as an opportunity rather than a challenge.
“As two major countries, China and the US should be responsible to history, the people and the world, and become a stable source of world peace and a propeller of common development,” Mr Xi said, according to an official statement.
Mr Sullivan’s meeting with General Zhang earlier on August 29 was the first time that a senior Biden administration official had met China’s top-ranked general.

(Latest Update September 2, 2024)