US security official meets China’s Xi as American election looms large over relations

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Chinese leader Xi Jinping met with US national security adviser Jake Sullivan in Beijing Thursday as the two countries press ahead on stabilizing communication in their increasingly contentious relationship.

The meeting was the capstone of a three-day trip that also saw Sullivan hold talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Central Military Commission vice chairman Gen. Zhang Youxia – the first meeting between a US official and Chinese military figure in that role since 2018.

Xi said China’s “commitment to the goal of a stable, healthy and sustainable China-U.S. relationship remains unchanged,” according to a readout from China’s Foreign Ministry.

The leader expressed “hope that the US side will work in the same direction with China, view China and its development in a positive and rational light, see each other’s development as an opportunity rather than a challenge,” the readout said.

Sullivan in introductory remarks reiterated that US President Joe Biden is “committed to responsibly managing this consequential relationship to ensure that competition does not veer into conflict.”

He added that Biden looks forward to engaging with Xi again “in the coming weeks” – foreshadowing potential talks or a call between the two leaders, which were also referenced in both sides’ readouts of meetings between Sullivan and Foreign Minister Wang. Xi and Biden last spoke during a call in April.

The meetings follow efforts over the past year from both sides to repair fractured lines of communication, even as US-China relations remain fraught over a host of