China and US officials lay groundwork for Biden-Xi talks

Top Chinese and US officials discussed holding fresh talks between Presidents Joe Biden and Xi Jinping in the near future, the two countries said on Wednesday during high-level meetings in Beijing.

The discussion occurred during lengthy talks between China's top diplomat, Wang Yi, and US national security adviser Jake Sullivan held against the backdrop of sharp disagreements between the superpowers and the 2024 US election race to replace Biden.

Both sides also agreed to hold video calls between their military theatre commanders who hold responsibility for hot spots in the Indo-Pacific region "at an appropriate time," according to the Chinese readout from the meetings, a move that Washington hopes could prevent conflict in areas like the Taiwan Strait. The White House said the talks would happen in the "near future."

"The key to the smooth development of China-US interaction lies in treating each other as equals," Wang told Sullivan, according to state broadcaster CCTV.

"The two sides held candid, substantive, and constructive discussions on a range of bilateral, regional, and global issues," the White House said.

The statements followed Sullivan's second day of talks with Wang and other officials, aimed at calming tensions between the two superpowers ahead of the Nov. 5 US election.

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Meetings between the two sides will last until Thursday and are expected to cover a range of areas where the two countries are at odds, including trade, the Middle East, the war in Ukraine, and Chinese territorial claims from Taiwan to the South China Sea.

Wang told Sullivan the US should "stop arming Taiwan and support peaceful 'reunification' of China," adding that "Taiwan belongs to China and that 'Taiwan independence' is the biggest risk to peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait."

According to the Chinese readout, Wang also expressed Beijing's disapproval of US tariffs on a range of manufactured goods and export controls targeting Chinese chip makers, saying Washington should "stop jeopardising China's legitimate interests."

But a US statement also stressed some areas of potential agreement, noting "shared concerns about (North Korea), Burma, and the Middle East."

They also said that Biden climate adviser John Podesta would soon travel to China for talks.

South China Sea

China, the world's second-largest economy, whose vessels have repeatedly clashed with Philippine ships in the South China Sea, said the US "must not undermine China's sovereignty ... nor support Philippines' 'infringing acts.'"

Manila and Washington have a mutual defence treaty and the US has vowed to aid the Philippines against armed attacks on its vessels and soldiers in the South China Sea.

In the final months of his presidency, Biden has pushed direct diplomacy to influence Xi to help keep tensions at bay. US Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic candidate in the November election, is expected to pursue a similar strategy if she is elected.

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In April, Biden and Xi navigated their countries' disagreements in a phone call, after deciding to significantly improve bilateral ties during a summit in San Francisco last November following a period of deep division over trade and the Covid-19 pandemic.

However, many analysts aligned with Republican former President Donald Trump see that approach as too soft, in the face of a more assertive Chinese foreign policy. Trump is his party's presidential candidate again in the November election.

The US also wants China to take more action at home to prevent the development of chemicals that can be made into fentanyl, the leading cause of US drug overdoses, and reach an understanding on safety standards for artificial intelligence.