BEIJING, Sept. 10 (Xinhua) — U.S. President Joe Biden looks forward to talks with Xi Jinping in the “coming weeks,” White House senior adviser Jake Sullivan told the Chinese leader on Thursday as they met for rare talks in Beijing.
Sullivan, the first U.S. national security adviser to visit China since 2016, met with Xi at the conclusion of three days of talks in Beijing, where he also met with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and other senior officials.
His visit came at a time when China was embroiled in security disputes with US allies Japan and the Philippines.
Sullivan told Xi during a meeting Thursday in Beijing's ornate Great Hall of the People that Biden “looks forward to engaging with you again in the coming weeks.”
“President Biden is committed to responsibly managing this important relationship to ensure that competition does not turn into conflict or confrontation, and to working together when our interests align,” he said.
Chinese state media said Xi told Sullivan that despite “major changes,” China and the United States could still enjoy good relations.
“China's commitment to the goal of stable, healthy and sustainable development of China-US relations remains unchanged,” Xi said.
“We hope that the United States will work with China to reach a mutual agreement,” he added, according to Closed circuit television.
Sullivan told reporters at the U.S. embassy on Thursday that talks with Chinese officials had lasted 14 hours, describing the discussions as “constructive, candid and substantive.”
The war in Ukraine came up during the talks, but Sullivan said the two sides had not reached “any particular plan.”
“I can't say that we have made any progress on that issue,” he said.
The talks did not address the upcoming U.S. election, but Sullivan said Vice President Kamala Harris wanted to keep “lines of communication open” with China.
Harris, also a Democratic presidential candidate, “shares President Biden's view that it is essential to responsibly manage this contest so that it does not turn into conflict or confrontation,” Sullivan said.
On Wednesday, Sullivan and top diplomat Wang had discussed plans for their leaders to speak in the coming weeks.
They also clashed over China's increasingly assertive approach in disputed maritime regions.
