The U.S. White House and the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on the 27th that U.S. White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and China’s diplomatic commander, Foreign Minister Wang Yi, met in Bangkok, Thailand on the 26th and 27th and exchanged views on North Korea issues and other issues. The diplomatic strategists of the leaders of the United States and China met two months after the summit between U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping in November last year.
Jake Sullivan (left), U.S. White House National Security Advisor, and Wang Yi (right), member of the Chinese Communist Party’s Central Political Bureau and Minister of Foreign Affairs, who met in Bangkok, Thailand on the 26th and 27th. /AFP Yonhap News
Sullivan raised concerns with Wang Yi about North Korea’s recent provocations and Russia-North Korea military cooperation and urged China to exert influence. A senior administration official said in this regard, “We are deeply concerned about North Korea’s recent weapons tests, the advancement of Russia-North Korea relations, and Kim Jong-un’s (North Korea State Affairs Commission Chairman) intentions.” It was interpreted as a reference to North Korea’s recent test launch of a new strategic cruise missile announced by North Korea and testing of an underwater nuclear weapons system, as well as North Korea’s support of weapons for attacking Ukraine to Russia.
The official said, “Given China’s influence over North Korea, we have raised these concerns directly with China, and we hope that this dialogue will continue between representatives of both sides.” He went on to say, “I am aware that China’s Vice Foreign Minister (Vice Minister) Sun Weidong has been dispatched to North Korea,” and added, “I believe that a telephone discussion will take place between the U.S. representative and Vice Minister Sun.” This official said, “China clearly maintains influence over North Korea,” and “we hope that they will use that influence to return us to the path of (North Korea) denuclearization.”
Chinese Foreign Minister (left) Wang Yi (left) and U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan meet and shake hands in Bangkok, Thailand on the 26th. /Xinhua Yonhap News
Meanwhile, China highlighted the fact that Wang Yi conveyed concerns to Sullivan about the anti-China Democratic Progressive Party, which recently succeeded in regaining power in Taiwan, and the Taiwan issue. According to the content of the meeting released by the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Wang Yi mentioned the Taiwanese election and emphasized, “The Taiwan issue is China’s internal affair, and local elections in Taiwan cannot change the basic fact that Taiwan is part of China.” He continued, “The biggest risk to peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait is ‘Taiwan independence,’ and the biggest challenge in China-US relations is also ‘Taiwan independence.’” He added, “The United States must adhere to the ‘one China’ principle and the three major joint public statements between China and the United States ( “We must firmly uphold the agreement surrounding mutual non-interference between the U.S. and China and the reduction of arms exports to Taiwan, demonstrate through action our promise not to support Taiwan’s independence, and support China’s peaceful unification,” he said.
The meeting on this day is interpreted as an attempt by the two countries to manage conflict as the Taiwanese election ends and the U.S. presidential race begins in earnest. The two sides agreed to maintain contact between their leaders and promote exchanges in various fields. They also decided to launch a joint program to crack down on narcotic painkiller fentanyl, which was one of the agreements reached at last year’s summit, and to hold the first meeting of the two countries’ artificial intelligence (AI) government dialogue organization.
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2024-01-28 18:04:15
