It will be the first time in eight years that a U.S. national security adviser visits China.
There are growing reports that Jake Sullivan is visiting Beijing this week in part to prepare for a summit between his boss, President Biden, and Chinese President Xi Jinping, due to be held in China.
The South China Morning Post cited “China observers” as saying the possibility of a US-China summit is very high but expectations are low.
Starting with allies, there is certainly much to discuss. On Monday, Japan reported that Chinese military aircraft had violated its airspace for the first time.
Last weekend, the Philippines accused China of disrupting coast guard resupply missions to government ships in the Spratly Islands, a disputed area in the South China Sea.
There are also bilateral issues: on Sunday, the US government imposed export controls on 42 Chinese companies it blames for their ties to the Russian military and the war with Ukraine.
China said the move would “undermine international trade order and rules.”
There is no denying that tensions exist in U.S.-China relations, but many observers say a summit is unlikely to resolve them.
Both U.S. presidential candidates support continuing tariffs on Chinese products, from steel to semiconductors, differing only in their severity.
