(Bloomberg) -- Senior White House official Jake Sullivan said China and the US have a duty to stop competition spiraling into conflict, during rare talks with a top Chinese general that broke another logjam.
Sullivan on Thursday became the first US national security advisor in eight years to meet a vice chairman of China’s top military body, which is helmed by President Xi Jinping and oversees the world’s largest army by active personnel.
The US official and General Zhang Youxia, of the Central Military Commission, discussed maintaining peace in the Taiwan Strait and South China Sea — two flashpoints in military relations — as well as Washington’s growing concerns over China’s ongoing support for the Kremlin’s war machine in Ukraine.
“Mr. Sullivan stressed that both countries have a responsibility to prevent competition from veering into conflict,” according to a White House account of the meeting in Beijing. Zhang demanded that the US stopped arming Taiwan, according to the Chinese statement.
Going into the exchange, Zhang said the gathering demonstrated the value the US government puts on military security. Sullivan called the sitdown — the highest level publicly known talks between a Biden administration official and the People’s Liberation Army — a “very important meeting.”
That breakthrough in dialogue underscores US efforts to stabilize ties as America enters a tumultuous political period ahead of a November election that will elect a new president. Sullivan earlier secured pledges for long-stalled calls between US and Chinese military commanders, as well as for Xi and President Joe Biden to speak again soon.
“Any talks at any level between China and the US are always welcome, it’s not only good for themselves but also a relief for other nations,” said Zhou Bo, a retired senior colonel in the PLA. “The key is to avoid a conflict and the way forward is to keep open lines of communication wherever possible.”
Sullivan’s trip comes at a time of rising military tensions between Beijing and America’s Asia-Pacific partners. A Chinese military aircraft breached Japanese airspace for the first time on Monday, escalating frayed relations with another key American partner, after clashes between ships from China and the Philippines — which has a defense treaty with the US.
Biden and Xi pledged to repair military exchanges at a summit just outside of San Francisco last November, after ties were abruptly cut following the August 2022 visit of then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan. But exactly who American officials should meet with had become a sticking point.
While US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has requested to talk with China’s top military brass, Beijing had put forward its defense minister — a diplomat with no meaningful influence over military operations.
Sullivan’s meeting with Zhang marked a return to precedent. In 2016, then US National Security Advisor Susan Rice met CMC vice chairman Fan Changlong in Beijing, while then American Defense Secretary Jim Mattis sat down with General Xu Qiliang — who at the time held the same CMC ranking — two years later.
Xi’s Old Friend
Zhang, 74, has been a vice chairman of the CMC since 2017 and is the oldest member of the 24-man Politburo after Xi dismantled retirement norms at a party reshuffle in 2022.
Keeping on the senior general was seen as a push for continuity for the PLA, as military tensions rose with the US over Taiwan, which Beijing views as a breakaway province to be claimed someday, by force if necessary.
During the Sullivan meeting, Zhang was flanked by other uniformed personnel, including Li Bin, director of the CMC’s office for international military cooperation, who earlier this year spoke with Ely Ratner, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs.
A social media account affiliated with China’s state broadcaster highlighted that almost all of Sullivan’s entourage could speak Chinese, including National Security Council officials Diana Partridge and Joy Li.
Zhang stands out as one of China’s few senior military officials with combat experience, having fought against Vietnam decades ago. He is also a family friend of Xi, after their fathers worked together in northwestern China during the civil war.
The septuagenarian previously served as the director of the General Armaments Department when the now-graced former Defense Minister Li Shangfu was his deputy. Li was ousted from the ruling Communist Party in June on allegations of bribery.
Sullivan, who is on his first — and likely last — trip to Beijing in this role, could also meet with Xi before departing the world’s No. 2 economy. During the Obama administration, the Chinese leader sat down with the White House’s top security aide every year between 2013 and 2016.
--With assistance from Jing Li and Colum Murphy.
(Updates with Chinese statement.)
©2024 Bloomberg L.P.
