White House’s Sullivan to Meet With China’s Foreign Minister in Bangkok

Reuters

12:36 JST, January 26, 2024

WASHINGTON/BEIJING (Reuters) – U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan will meet with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Bangkok on Friday and Saturday, building on a commitment by the two countries’ leaders to deepen dialog between the world’s two largest economies.

The Chinese foreign ministry announced the meeting in a separate statement.

The meeting comes a little more than two months after U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping met for about four hours on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in San Francisco.

Biden and Xi agreed to open a presidential hotline, resume military-to-military communications, and work to curb fentanyl production, but remained at odds over Taiwan.

This meeting continues the commitment by both sides at the November 2023 Woodside Summit between President Biden and President Xi to maintain strategic communication and responsibly manage the relationship, Adrienne Watson, spokesperson for the White House National Security Council, said in a statement.

She said Sullivan, who reports directly to Biden, would also meet with Thailand Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin and Deputy Prime Minister Parnpree Bahiddha-nukara.

In these meetings, Mr. Sullivan will reaffirm the importance of the U.S.-Thailand treaty alliance and partnership and discuss opportunities to strengthen cooperation across a range of bilateral and global issues, Watson said.