White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan announced on Sunday that U.S. President Joe Biden wants to restore military relations with China, just days ahead of a scheduled meeting between the two countries' leaders. Biden will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday for the first time in a year during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in San Francisco. This will be the second face-to-face meeting between the presidents since Biden took office in January 2021.
Sullivan stated in an interview with CBS's "Face the Nation," "The president is determined to restore military relations because he believes it serves American national security... We need these lines of communication to prevent mistakes, miscalculations, or misunderstandings." He added that the restoration of military relations could occur at all levels, ranging from senior leadership to tactical operations, as well as "at sea and in the air in the Indo-Pacific region."
In another interview with CNN, he mentioned that Biden would seek to "move the ball forward" in military relations during his meeting with Xi, but he refrained from providing further details. He continued, "The Chinese have severed these lines of communication. President Biden would like to restore them... It's a top item on the agenda."
A senior U.S. official indicated that the two presidents are expected to discuss various global issues, such as the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas, Russia's invasion of Ukraine, North Korea's relations with Russia, Taiwan, the Indo-Pacific region, human rights, fentanyl production, artificial intelligence, as well as trade and economic relations.
Relations between the two countries have soured after Biden ordered the downing of a Chinese balloon suspected of espionage that was flying over the United States. However, senior officials from the Biden administration subsequently visited Beijing to meet with their Chinese counterparts to restore communication and trust between the two nations.
