White House’s Sullivan to meet China’s foreign minister in Bangkok

WASHINGTON/BEIJING - United States National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan will meet Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Bangkok on Jan 26 and 27, building on a commitment by the two countries’ leaders to deepen dialogue 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

US 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.

Mr Biden and Mr 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,” Ms Adrienne Watson, spokesperson for the White House National Security Council, said in a statement.

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

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