US national security adviser Jake Sullivan has told Chinese leaders that Kamala Harris is committed to “responsibly managing” the relationship between Washington and Beijing if she wins the presidential election in November.
The comments from Sullivan, who on Thursday met Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing, are intended to reassure Chinese policymakers that Harris would not take a more hostile approach to the relationship than US President Joe Biden.
After meeting Xi, Sullivan said that Harris “shares President Biden’s view that responsibly managing this competition so that it doesn’t veer into conflict or confrontation is essential”.
“She also shares the view that maintaining high-level, open lines of communication is the way to achieve that responsible management,” he added.
Beijing has become increasingly concerned about how a Harris administration would handle the relationship with China and who would be her closest advisers on the matter.
While Harris has briefly met the Chinese president and his number two, Premier Li Qiang, little is known of the detail of her views on the country.
She mentioned it only once in her speech to last week’s Democratic convention, vowing to ensure “that America — not China — wins the competition for the 21st century”.
“Vice-president Harris has been a central member of the Biden foreign policy team, a leading member,” Sullivan said, “and has been part of the design and execution of the overall strategy in the Indo-Pacific.”
Sullivan added that he had “shared his experience” regarding the vice-president during his meetings with Chinese leaders this week.
As well as meeting Xi, the national security adviser also had a rare encounter with one of China’s most powerful military officials and two days of extensive talks with Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi.
Sullivan said his meetings covered issues ranging from Taiwan and the South China Sea to Beijing’s support for Russia and co-operation on issues such as curbing illicit drug trafficking. The main aim, however, was to maintain communication to ensure the stability of the relationship, he said.
“These were constructive, candid, substantive conversations. We believe that keeping lines of communication open is critical,” Sullivan said.
During their meeting, Xi told Sullivan that Beijing and Washington must be “a stable source of world peace”, state news agency Xinhua reported.
“China’s commitment to the goal of a stable, healthy and sustainable China-US relationship remains unchanged,” Xi said.
Sullivan told the briefing he had “stressed the importance of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait” and “reaffirmed the United States’ commitment to our Indo-Pacific allies”.
This included the Philippines, which has repeatedly clashed with China over territorial claims in the South China Sea.
Sullivan and Wang’s talks in Beijing are part of a “strategic channel” created to stabilise relations and to enable discussions about sensitive issues such as Taiwan.
The White House has said US President Biden and Xi plan to talk by telephone in the coming weeks and Sullivan said they could possibly meet again in person before Biden leaves office if they both attend meetings such as the Apec forum in Peru or the G20 in Brazil after the US election.
On Thursday, Sullivan had a highly unusual meeting with General Zhang Youxia, one of two vice-chairs of China’s Central Military Commission, who warned the US over Taiwan.
“China demands that the US stop its military collusion with Taiwan, halt arms sales to Taiwan and cease spreading false narratives regarding Taiwan,” Xinhua quoted the general as saying.
