China, US talks in Beijing strike encouraging note but risks remain

Meetings between top US and Chinese officials in China this week struck an encouraging note, with both sides promising to keep communication lines open, even as Beijing remained wary of additional “provocative” US steps and open conflicts remain a potential.

Meetings between Daniel Kritenbrink, assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, and Chinese officials including Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu were described as open and fruitful in statements from Washington and Beijing.

Just before Kritenbrink arrived in Beijing on Sunday, the US military reported an “unsafe interaction” on Saturday in the Taiwan Strait when a Chinese vessel passed in front of a US destroyer, heightening the potential of further clashes that might spin out of hand.

Kritenbrink’s visit also followed China’s apparent snub last week of US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, who had sought a formal meeting with his Chinese counterpart but was bluntly rejected.

“The two sides conducted candid, constructive and fruitful communication on promoting the improvement of Sino-US relations and properly managing and controlling differences,” the Chinese foreign ministry said in a statement on Tuesday of Kritenbrink’s meetings.

Both sides also agreed to continue to communicate, according to the statement.

“The two sides had candid and productive discussions as part of ongoing efforts to maintain open lines of communication and build on recent high-level diplomacy between the two countries,” the US State Department said late Monday.

US President Joe Biden’s administration has pushed to boost engagement with China as ties between the world’s two largest economies have deteriorated over issues ranging from democratically governed Taiwan, which China claims as its own, to military activity in the South China Sea.

But critics have questioned US overtures to China, arguing that past decades of engagement have failed to change Beijing’s behaviour.

The recent interactions between China and the United States showed both sides are trying to manage disputes, but the risk of clashes will still rise if Washington does not cease its provocations and if it does not show sincerity in improving relations, state-backed Chinese newspaper Global Times reported late Monday.

China and US ties have entered a “more complicated” phase – while China is willing to stabilise relations and is open to possible cooperation, it will also firmly fight back against the US provocations, wrote Global Times, known for its nationalist leanings.

“We’re working hard to manage the relationship as best as we possibly can,” said Kritenbrink, when asked by reporters in Beijing on Tuesday about the current state of bilateral ties.

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