Washington Update

On Thursday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with China’s top diplomat, Wang Yi, on the sidelines of the ASEAN Foreign Ministers Meeting in Jakarta, Indonesia. This was the second meeting between Blinken and Wang in less than a month, and it was described by the State Department as “candid and constructive,” with both sides agreeing to maintain communication.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen arrived in Beijing on Thursday for a series of meetings with top Chinese officials that will continue through Sunday. Yellen plans to raise China’s unfair trade practices, market access barriers faced by US companies, and China’s new Anti-Espionage Law.

The week saw more senior level engagement between the United States and China, building on a commitment to look for areas ripe for collaboration made by both sides during Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s recent meetings in Beijing.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit to China over the weekend marked a significant step in the ongoing dialogue between the United States and China. Blinken engaged in a series of meetings with key Chinese officials, including President Xi Jinping, Foreign Minister Qin Gang, and China’s top diplomat Wang Yi.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to Beijing this weekend for meetings with senior Chinese officials. On Wednesday, Blinken and China’s Foreign Minister Qin Gang spoke by phone, offering a preview of what both sides wish to discuss during the visit.

On Tuesday, a State Department official confirmed that Secretary of State Antony Blinken plans  to travel to China for talks in the coming weeks.

On Wednesday, the fourth US-EU Trade and Technology Council (TTC) meeting took place in Luleå, Sweden. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, and US Trade Representative Katherina Tai engaged their EU counterparts on several issues, including the consolidation of supply chains, mechanisms for investment screening, export controls, and methods for handling non-market economies.

On Thursday, in a significant cabinet-level exchange between the United States and China, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao convened in Washington DC. According to readouts, the two had a candid dialogue regarding trade, investment, and export policies.

On Thursday, it was announced that China’s Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao will meet with Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo in Washington and with US Trade Representative  Katherine Tai in Detroit next week. Many have been expecting Tai and Wentao to meet, as Detroit is hosting the trade ministers of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) May 25 to 26.

National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan held eight hours of talks with China’s top diplomat, Wang Yi, over Wednesday and Thursday in Vienna in a step toward stabilizing relations. The previously undisclosed talks broke a period of relative silence between the two countries, following the Chinese surveillance balloon incident earlier this year.