National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan concluded the first day of talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing on Tuesday, focusing on what the White House described as “candid, substantive, and constructive discussions” aimed at maintaining a positive tone in the bilateral relationship.
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trip, a senior White House official, speaking anonymously, suggested that this visit could be among the final in-person meetings between the Biden administration and the Chinese Communist Party. The official also anticipated that Sullivan and Wang would engage in discussions lasting from ten to twelve hours, consistent with their previous meetings.
Chinese state media previewed the meetings between Jake Sullivan and Wang Yi with assertive articles, urging Sullivan to use the visit to "learn how to listen" and to abandon what they described as an "incorrect position and understanding of China." These articles also emphasized China's false claims over Taiwan, a sovereign nation.
According to a White House readout of the meeting, Sullivan and Wang discussed various topics, including China's threats to take control of Taiwan. However, the White House highlighted that the discussions prioritized areas where the two sides found common ground.
“They discussed progress and next steps on implementation of the Woodside Summit commitments, including counternarcotics, military-to-military communications, and AI safety and risk,” the readout detailed. “Mr. Sullivan and Director Wang discussed next steps to reduce the flow of illicit synthetic drugs, continue repatriation of undocumented migrants, and law enforcement cooperation.”
The statement also noted that both parties emphasized the importance of taking concrete steps to address the climate crisis and expressed interest in further discussions during Senior Advisor to the President for International Climate Policy John Podesta’s upcoming visit to China.
The White House hinted that this meeting might pave the way for a leader-level call between President Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping in the coming weeks.
Xinhua, China's state news agency, reported on the talks and similarly listed “drug control, law enforcement, repatriation of illegal immigrants, and climate change mitigation” as key topics of discussion. However, Xinhua did not provide specific details about the conversations, other than noting a mutual commitment to cooperation on these issues.
China is considered one of the most destructive forces globally on each of the topics Xinhua mentioned. Regarding drug control, China is the primary source of the precursor chemicals used to produce fentanyl, a deadly opioid that kills thousands of Americans each year. Additionally, the Chinese government has engaged in widespread illegal "law enforcement" activities worldwide, including setting up unauthorized "police stations" to target anti-communists abroad, even on U.S. soil. The number of Chinese nationals entering the U.S. illegally has significantly increased over the past decade, and China remains the world's largest polluter.
On Wednesday, the *Global Times*, a state-run Chinese newspaper known for its aggressive stance, reported that Sullivan assured Wang that President Biden would not challenge China on any of its harmful activities.
According to The Global Times, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan stated that “President Biden is committed to managing the US-China relationship responsibly, avoiding competition from turning into conflict, and cooperating in areas of common interest.”
Chinese experts quoted by the state newspaper indicated that Wang Yi would use the ongoing discussions to encourage the U.S. to be “more reasonable and rational,” which they interpreted as a push for the U.S. to align more closely with the Communist Party’s agenda, particularly concerning Taiwan.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry reportedly emphasized that China would focus on raising serious concerns about the Taiwan issue, addressing development rights, and discussing strategic security during Sullivan’s visit to Beijing.
American sources suggested that if Sullivan navigates the visit without major conflicts, President Xi Jinping and President Biden might meet in person one final time before Biden’s term ends. Possible venues for such a meeting include the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in Peru from November 10 to 16 or the G20 summit in Brazil on November 18 and 19, according to Voice of America.
Sullivan is set to conclude his trip to Beijing on Thursday. As Biden’s primary diplomat for China, Sullivan has engaged in four meetings with Wang Yi over the past year and a half, with Secretary of State Antony Blinken focusing on the ongoing war in Gaza. These talks are part of the broader negotiations following Biden’s last in-person meeting with Xi in San Francisco last November, which lasted four hours and yielded no significant progress on addressing China’s global conduct. Xi did agree to resume military-to-military communication, which had been suspended after former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s 2022 visit to Taiwan, and to make a nominal effort to combat the fentanyl crisis.
Before their private discussions, Xi used a press conference with Biden to highlight his intent to challenge tariffs on Chinese goods and combat efforts to disrupt China’s global manufacturing dominance. Xi stated, “Industrial and supply chains are still under threat of interruption and protectionism is rising. All these are grave problems. For two large countries like China and the United States, turning their back on each other is not an option. It is unrealistic for one side to remodel the other, and conflict and confrontation have unbearable consequences for both sides.”
The topic of tariffs and protectionism did not feature prominently in the reports of Sullivan’s first day of talks but is expected to be discussed further on Wednesday or Thursday.