WH National Security Advisor Sullivan Meets With Chinese Counterpart

The White House has released a statement confirming that President Biden's National Security Advisor, Jake Sullivan, has met with China's top diplomat Wang Yi in Vienna, Austria, the most significant face-face meeting between high-ranking US and Chinese officials in a number of months.

• White House: "The two sides had candid, substantive, and constructive discussions on key issues in the U.S.-China bilateral relationship... Russia's war against Ukraine, and cross-Strait issues..."
• The meeting follows a framework for competition with China outlined by Sullivan in a major policy speech last month which distanced Washington from de-coupling with China and stressed the need for responsible economic cooperation.
• President Biden told reporters yesterday that, "There's been progress," on a potential meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping but declined to elaborate.
• FT reported pessimistically that there is “little chance” of a meeting between US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and his Chinese counterpart Li Shangfu at the Shangri-La Dialogue security forum in Singapore in June. A highly irregular prospect which would demonstrate the extent of tensions and nix recent signs of a thaw between Washington and Beijing.