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US-China relations
This Week in AsiaOpinion
Lucio Blanco Pitlo III
Lucio Blanco Pitlo III

Asian Angle | US, China talks in Luxembourg may set stage for Biden-Xi face-to-face summit

  • US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and Chinese Communist Party Politburo member Yang Jiechi met in Europe’s Luxembourg on Monday
  • The two superpowers understand the risks of their rivalry getting out of hand; this was the 4th in-person meeting of US-China officials in 15 months

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US President Joe Biden during a virtual meeting with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in 2021. Photo: AP
Lucio Blanco Pitlo III
A day after sparring at the 2022 Shangri-La Dialogue, high-level officials from the United States and China met in Luxembourg to discuss a range of regional and global issues, including hot-button topics that directly bear on their relationship.
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Both sides recognise the risks of great power rivalry getting out of hand and are aiming to improve the management of their strategic competition.

The meeting in the small European country may set the stage for the first face-to-face summit between Presidents Joe Biden and Xi Jinping. In recent days there have been reports suggesting the two leaders are likely to soon hold a fresh round of virtual talks.

Given the prevailing tense atmosphere, demand is high for such exchanges.

Monday’s Luxembourg discussions between US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and Chinese Communist Party Politburo member and State Councillor Yang Jiechi show how much importance both sides attach to the world’s most consequential bilateral ties.

It was the fourth actual meeting between US-China officials in fifteen months and started with a May 18 phone call.

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Sullivan, with Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Yang, alongside Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, first met in Alaska in March last year. Previous Sullivan-Yang talks prefaced dialogue between Biden and Xi.

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