On Sunday, the White House stated that the national security adviser met a top diplomat of China in Malta over the weekend. The move was one of the efforts to maintain open communication between the two countries.
It was the national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, who met China's foreign minister and the top foreign policy official of the Communist Party, Wang Yi over the weekend, as stated by the White House in its description regarding the talks. The summary by the White House talked about how the two leaders discussed relations between the two countries, along with the Russia-Ukraine war and the tense relations between Washington and Beijing due to Taiwan.
In a telephone briefing on Sunday, a senior official from the White House expressed to the reporters that Mr. Sullivan restated the concerns of the United States regarding the recent military actions by China around Taiwan. He further highlighted the fact and desire that any conflicts or disputes ought to be resolved in a peaceful manner.
The United States official also stated that Mr. Sullivan highlighted the fact that China should not be trying to help Russia in the war on Ukraine. This concern is linked to the fact that since the winter season, China has been incessantly considering sending arms to Russia's President Vladimir V. Putin for the war. These findings were then announced in the month of February by the U.S. officials, following which they confronted the Chinese officials. The White House official stated that so far, China has not been sending any significant weapons.
On Sunday, the Chinese government issued a summary which said that Mr. Wang stated that the issue over Taiwan was actually a "red line" for China. The summary also stated that the officials talked about issues concerning the Asia-Pacific region, Ukraine, and the Korean Peninsula. The talks also touched on topics such as measures for "personal exchanges", between the countries.
The summary by the White House stated that Mr. Wang and Mr. Sullivan consented that the two governments would be pursuing additional consultations and high-level engagement in important areas. In the last few weeks, officials in the United States have stressed the fact that they have been attempting to set up a meeting between China's leader, Xi Jinping, and President Joe Biden in November. Not many, however, can foresee that happening.
Another aspect of the story revolves around recent purges taking place in the top levels of the Communist Party and the government of China. Last week, U.S. officials stated that the defense minister of China, Gen. Li Shangfu, had been put under investigation for corruption. The minister did not make any public appearance since late August.
In the month of July, Mr. Xi expelled the foreign minister, Qin Gang, and also said that Mr. Wang would be taking over the duties of Qin Gang.
The United States intelligence agencies have been attempting to obtain more information regarding the ongoing conflicts among the top officials.
Mr. Biden has attempted since the spy balloon crisis to have the top officials indulge in high-level diplomacy with their counterparts in Beijing, with the purpose of adding some stability to the ties, even if the stability is minute.
