Senior US Delegation Visit China to Follow Up on Biden’s Meeting With Xi

U.S. President Joe Biden meets with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the G20 leaders' summit in Bali, Indonesia, on Nov. 14, 2022. Kevin Lamarque/Reuters

A senior U.S. delegation visited China on Dec. 11 and 12 to discuss a range of topics to follow up on President Joe Biden’s meeting with the PRC leader Xi Jinping in Bali.

The Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin acknowledged the talks between the U.S. delegation and Vice Foreign Minister Xie Fengin in Langfang, southwest of Beijing.

The delegation team included U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Kritenbrink, National Security Council Senior Director for China Laura Rosenberger, and Deputy Assistant Secretary for China and Taiwan Rick Waters, State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters on Dec. 12.

According to an earlier statement by the State Department, the team would also visit the Republic of Korea and Japan to “hold consultations on a range of regional and bilateral issues” during the trip from Dec. 11-14.

As well as a follow-up on the November meeting in Bali between Biden and Xi, the visit was also part of the preparation for Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit to Beijing early next year.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a news conference at the Department of State in Washington on Dec. 8, 2022. Drew Angerer/Getty Images

China said the two sides had in-depth communication in China-U.S. relations regarding sensitive issues such as Taiwan and subjects of mutual interests, both regional and international.

U.S. State Department spokesperson Ned Price said that the delegates discussed a series of issues, including “bringing home U.S. citizens who are wrongfully detained or who may be subject to exit bans.” Global issues, such as Russia’s aggression in Ukraine and the North Korean security threat, were also discussed, as were cooperation challenges such as climate change, health security, global macroeconomic stability, and global food security, he added.

According to the State Department, the meeting was to continue responsibly managing the competition between the two countries and to explore potential areas of cooperation.

Earlier, the White House Indo-Pacific coordinator Kurt Campbell anticipated that both China and Washington would work to stabilize relations, especially after China sees its zero-COVID policy slowing down the country’s economy and the intense military confrontation with neighboring countries such as Japan and India hurting its standing in the world.

He believed that an “openly hostile relationship with the United States” is the last thing China needs right now, Campbell said at the Aspen Security Forum on Dec. 8.

Xia Yu contributed to this report.