Chinese, US envoys meet in Beijing
‘Frank’ discussion to manage growing rift
BEIJING: The United States and China held “frank” and constructive talks in Beijing on improving ties and managing their differences, China’s foreign ministry said yesterday.
Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Kritenbrink travelled to Beijing this week — a rare visit to China by a senior US diplomat as Washington seeks to allay tensions between the rival powers.
“The two sides conducted frank, constructive, and effective communication on promoting the improvement of Sino-US relations,” China’s foreign ministry said of Mr Kritenbrink’s meetings with senior Chinese officials, which took place on Monday.
The US described Mr Kritenbrink’s talks with China’s Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu and diplomat Yang Tao as “candid and productive”.
China said the two sides discussed “properly managing differences in accordance with the consensus reached by the two heads of state at their Bali meeting in November last year”.
“Both parties agree to continue communication,” its foreign ministry said.
The meeting was part of “ongoing efforts to maintain open lines of communication and build on recent highlevel diplomacy between the two countries”, the US State Department said.
“The two sides exchanged views on the bilateral relationship, cross-Strait issues, channels of communication, and other matters,” it added, referring to the Taiwan Strait.
But US officials also “made clear that the United States would compete vigorously and stand up for US interests and values”, the statement said.
Beijing, too, said its diplomats had “clarified [China’s] solemn stance on major principled issues such as Taiwan”, which China claims as its territory and has vowed to retake one day, by force if necessary.
The meeting came in the face of continuing tensions between the two powers over the South China Sea as well as Taiwan and a litany of other disputes.
On Monday, the US warned that Chinese military “aggressiveness” that had caused near-collisions with US forces in the sea and in the air could soon lead to casualties.
Last week, Washington said CIA Director William Burns had made a secret trip to China in May, hoping to shore up lines of communication with Beijing.
Just after the talks, a Chinese research ship and its escort, which operated for nearly a month in Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the South China Sea, left those waters on Monday night, vessel-tracking experts said. Chinese vessel Xiang Yang Hong 10 began sailing in Vietnam’s EEZ on May 7, at times flanked by a dozen ships, and regularly crossing gas and oil fields operated by Russian companies, according to vessel-tracking data.
On Monday, the Chinese vessel and its escort of more than half a dozen ships began their journey back to China’s Hainan Island, leaving Vietnam’s EEZ around midnight.
Asked about the movements of the ships, China’s foreign ministry did not comment about the return to Hainan.
“The Chinese scientific research vessel carrying out normal research activities in maritime waters under China’s jurisdiction is legitimate and proper. The issue of entering another country’s EEZ does not exist,” it said.
Under international law, ships are allowed to sail through foreign EEZs, but unauthorised surveys are not permitted and China’s operations in the South China Sea have long been problematic for countries in the region, as Beijing claims most of the energy-rich sea, including foreign EEZs.
At 3am GMT yesterday, the Chinese research ship was seen approaching Hainan, said Ray Powell, who leads Stanford University’s Project Myoushu on the South China Sea.
Vietnam’s fisheries surveillance ships turned back after the Chinese vessel left Vietnam’s EEZ.