For the first time in eight years, the national security adviser of the United States is in China.
A growing number of reports suggest that Jake Sullivan is in Beijing this week in part to arrange a summit meeting between his boss President Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping — a meeting that would take place in China.
The South China Morning Post quoted “Chinese observers” as saying the odds are very high but expectations are low for a China-U.S. summit.
There’s certainly a lot to talk about starting with allies. On Monday, Japan reported that a Chinese military aircraft violated its territorial airspace, which is the first time that has happened.
Last weekend, the Philippines accused China of blocking a Coast Guard resupply mission to a government ship in the Spratly Islands — a disputed area of the South China Sea.
There are also bilateral issues. On Sunday, the U.S. government slapped export controls on 42 Chinese companies because of links it says they have to Russia’s military and its war with Ukraine.
China said that move “undermines the international trade order and rules.”
While there are undeniably tensions in the U.S./China relationship, many observers say a summit is unlikely to resolve them.
Both major U.S. presidential candidates back continued tariffs on Chinese products from steel to semiconductors, differing only in their severity.
