US National Security Advisor Jack Sullivan arrives in Beijing
Aug 27, 2024
Beijing [China], August 27 : United States National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan arrived in Beijing on Tuesday for a three-day visit to China. Sullivan is scheduled to hold talks with Chinese FM Wang Yi.
Upon his arrival at the Beijing Capital International Airport, Sullivan was met by Yang Tao of China's Foreign Ministry and US Ambassador Nicholas Burns.
During Sullivan's visit, China will focus on raising serious concerns regarding the Taiwan question, address development rights and strategic security, China's Foreign Ministry said on Sunday.
State media Global Times said that Sullivan's visit is at the invitation of Wang Yi, China's Foreign Minister and member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China.
Sullivan is the first US national security advisor to visit China in eight years, it said. During the term of President Barack Obama, Susan Rice travelled to China in 2016.
White House National Security Communications Advisor Jonh Kirby told reporters in Washington on August 26 that during Sullivan's visit will include meetings with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi over the course of two days, August 27 through August 29.
"This trip marks the fifth meeting between Wang and Sullivan. The channel between the National Security Advisor and the Director has played an important role in responsibly managing the competition and the tension between our two countries," Kirby said.
He said, Sullivan's trip to China was discussed by President Joe Biden and President Xi Jinping, at the Woodside Summit in November 2023 in the US.
In Beijing, Sullivan will discuss key issues in the US-China bilateral relationship, including advancing counternarcotics cooperation, military-to-military communication, and AI safety and risk discussions - all outcomes of the Woodside Summit, Kirby said.
"You can expect that he will also take the opportunity to talk to Mr Wang about our concerns, from a security perspective, all throughout the Indo-Pacific - tensions rising in the South China Sea, tensions across the Taiwan Strait, and a range of other issues including unfair economic practices. All of that will be on the table," Kirby told reporters.
Sullivan's visit will be his fifth face-to-face meeting with Wang and comes ahead of the US presidential elections to be held in November this year.
