Trading blows, US and China head into first talks in months

The US and China barreled into their first high-level talks since March trading sanctions and rhetorical barbs, raising the stakes for the effort to stabilize strained relations between the world's two largest economies.

Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman, the US’s No. 2 diplomat, is set to meet Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Monday in Tianjin, about 60 miles east of the capital Beijing. The visit follows a series of Biden administration actions challenging China's red lines on what it considers its internal affairs, prompting Beijing to protest and announce fresh sanctions against Americans including former Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross.

Sherman intends to raise concerns about human rights in places such as Hong Kong and Xinjiang while seeking to reassure Beijing that the U.S. isn't building an anti-China coalition, senior administration officials told reporters Saturday. High-level engagement is needed to ensure responsible management of U.S.-China ties and cooperation on issues of common interest, such as climate change, said the officials, who asked not to be identified because the meeting's agenda hasn't been made public.


The talks are the first between top American and Chinese diplomats since the two sides had a testy exchange in Alaska, although they have since communicated by phone and U.S. climate envoy John Kerry has spoken with his Chinese counterpart. If the latest discussions are fruitful, they could set up a meeting between Presidents Joe Biden and Xi Jinping, possibly at a Group of 20 summit in October.

“Neither side wants to appear to be softening its position after the chilly Alaska meetings,” said Avery Goldstein, professor of international relations at the University of Pennsylvania.

Beijing and Washington will have to show they can get to grips with their disagreements without appearing to domestic audiences that they are giving ground. Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said last week that Beijing would use the meetings to “make clear our principles and positions on developing China-US relations”.