US-China High-Level Talks in Switzerland This Week... Biden-Xi Jinping Meeting to Stoke the Fire?

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] Jake Sullivan, White House National Security Advisor, and Yang Jiechi, Chinese Politburo member in charge of foreign affairs, will meet this week in Zurich, Switzerland for talks.

The White House announced the meeting on the 5th (local time), explaining that it is a follow-up discussion to the phone call between U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the 9th of last month. The White House did not disclose the specific schedule of the meeting.

Earlier, the Hong Kong South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported that Sullivan and Yang are scheduled to meet in Switzerland this week, with the date likely to be the 6th.

China’s foreign affairs minister is Wang Yi, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, but the U.S. has designated Yang Jiechi as the top diplomat.

This will be the second meeting between Sullivan and Yang. In March, Sullivan, along with Secretary of State Antony Blinken, met Yang and Minister Wang in Alaska, where they engaged in intense exchanges.

There are expectations that this meeting could yield positive results.

China strongly opposed the formation of the AUKUS security alliance by the U.S., Australia, and the U.K., and the transfer of nuclear submarine technology to Australia, but the U.S. provided a possibility of a 'thaw' in U.S.-China tensions by releasing Meng Wanzhou, Huawei’s Vice Chairwoman.

Catherine Tai, U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), also announced the U.S. trade policy toward China the day before, expressing the view that the Phase One trade agreement between the U.S. and China should be upheld and stating willingness to engage in dialogue. By avoiding an aggressive stance toward China and expressing hope for dialogue, concerns about the resurgence of a trade war have somewhat eased.

Considering the circumstances, there is a strong expectation that discussions about a summit meeting between U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping will take place at this meeting.

Originally, it was anticipated that the two leaders might hold their first summit at the upcoming G20 summit in Italy at the end of this month.

Bonnie Glaser, an Asia expert at the U.S. think tank German Marshall Fund, predicted that "a virtual summit could be held," considering that President Xi is not traveling abroad.

Coincidentally, Secretary Blinken and Taiwan’s representative are also visiting France, so there is a possibility that they will engage with the Chinese side as well.

Experts welcomed the increasing frequency of meetings between the U.S. and China. There are also opinions that if contacts between the two countries expand, the consulates general in Houston and Chengdu, which have been closed, could reopen.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.