Top White House official meets key Beijing diplomat amid signs of easing US-China tensions
White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan and senior Chinese foreign policy adviser Wang Yi held talks in Vienna this week
WASHINGTON (AP) — White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan and senior Chinese foreign policy adviser Wang Yi held talks in Vienna this week, the latest in a series of small signs that tensions could be easing between the world's two biggest economies.
The meeting was not publicized by Washington or Beijing ahead of the high-level talks that took place on Wednesday and Thursday. The White House described the discussions as “candid” and “constructive."
As the political and military rivalry between China and the U.S. intensifies, American officials and analysts are worried that a lack of reliable crisis communications could cause a minor confrontation to spiral into greater hostilities. They cite the ability to communicate with the former Soviet Union as allowing the Cold War to end without a nuclear exchange.
Sullivan and Wang discussed “key issues” in the U.S.-China relationship, Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine, Taiwan, and more, according to the White House statement.
