China, U.S. start meetings in D.C.
Officials hope to set stage for Biden-Xi summit in summer
WASHINGTON — China’s top diplomat said Thursday that dialogue between Beijing and Washington should not only be resumed but deepened, comments that raise hopes the relationship between the world’s two largest economies can be steadied in the midst of potentially world-changing conflicts in the Middle East and Europe.
Wang Yi, the Chinese foreign minister, spoke at the beginning of a three-day visit to Washington, during which he is meeting with high-level U.S. officials, including possibly President Joe Biden, at a time when both countries are eager to stem any further decline in their ties.
“The China and U.S. sides need dialogue. We should resume dialogue, and what we need more is to deepen our dialogue, and have all-around dialogue,” Wang said before going into a private meeting with Secretary of State Antony Blinken. “Through dialogue, we will increase understanding and reduce misunderstanding and misjudgment.”
With Blinken looking on, Wang said China will seek consensus and cooperation to “push the relationship as soon as possible back to the track of healthy, stable and sustainable development.”
Blinken and Jake Sullivan, Biden’s national security adviser, are expected to press Wang on the importance of China stepping up its role on the world stage if it wants to be considered a responsible major international player.
The U.S. has been disappointed with China over its support for Russia in the war against Ukraine and its relative silence on the war between Israel and Hamas. In addition, Beijing and Washington are at odds on issues such as human rights, climate change, Taiwan, the South China Sea and North Korea.
Wang’s meetings could set the stage for a summit between President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping next month on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders’ gathering in San Francisco.
Both sides have expressed a willingness to talk since Blinken canceled a visit to China in February after the shootdown of a Chinese spy balloon over the U.S., which marked a low point in recent relations.
In the months that followed that crisis, Blinken rescheduled his trip and went to China in June. He was followed in quick succession by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, climate envoy John Kerry and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo.
In addition, Sullivan met with Wang in Malta in mid-September ahead of Blinken’s discussions with Chinese Vice President Han Zheng later that month on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York. And Blinken spoke just last week with Wang about the Israel-Hamas crisis.
The goal, according to U.S. officials, is to arrange another Biden-Xi summit at which the two leaders could explore cooperation or at least easing outright hostility on the most pressing matters of the day.
“Wang Yi’s visit will serve as one of the final touchpoints in laying the groundwork” for the Biden-Xi meeting, said Ryan Hass, director of the John L. Thornton China Center at the Brookings Institute, a Washington-based think tank. “Wang’s meetings in Washington will set the contours for the topics the two leaders will discuss when they meet in November.”
“It opens the possibility of the world’s two largest powers pursuing coordinated efforts to limit escalation or expansion of violence in Ukraine and the Middle East,” he said.
Yun Sun, director of the China Program at the Stimson Center, another Washington think tank, said Wang’s trip signals that the Xi-Biden summit is almost certain.
“Wang is here to pave the ground for Xi’s San Francisco trip. That’s the core focus of the trip. It means issues will be negotiated, solutions will be discussed and details will be deliberated and inked,” Sun said. “The APEC summit is 20 days away, so time is of essence. His trip means that Xi is coming. Xi’s coming means meeting with Biden. The Xi-Biden summit means efforts to stabilize bilateral ties.”