BEIJING: Chinese President Xi Jinping told top White House aide Jake Sullivan on Thursday that Beijing remained committed to good ties with the United States, despite “great changes”.

Sullivan, the first US national security adviser to visit China since 2016, met Xi as he wrapped up three days of talks in the Chinese capital which also saw him meet Foreign Minister Wang Yi and other high-ranking officials.

Sullivan’s visit comes as China is embroiled in security rows with US allies Japan and the Philippines.

But state broadcaster CCTV said Xi told Sullivan that in spite of “great cha­nges”, China and the US could still enjoy good ties.

“China’s commitment to the goal of stable, healthy, and sustainable development of China-US relations hasn’t changed,” Xi said. “We hope that the US will work with China to meet each other halfway,” he added, according to CCTV.

Sullivan said US President Joe Biden is looking forward to talks with Xi Jinping in the “coming weeks”.

Sullivan told Xi that Biden “looks forward to engaging with you again in the coming weeks”. “President Biden is committed to responsibly managing this consequential relationship to ensure that competition does not veer into conflict or confrontation, and to work together where our interests align,” he said.

Earlier in the day, Sullivan met senior Chi­nese army chief Zhang You­­xia at the Beijing head­q­uarters of the Cen­tral Military Commission, where the two discussed Taiwan and other flashpoint issues.

The two officials agreed to hold a call between the two sides’ theatre commanders “in the near future”, a readout from the White House said.

Published in Dawn, August 30th, 2024