US, China to hold virtual summit before year’s end

美國中國將在年底前舉行虛擬峰會

Officials say US wants to responsibly manage intense competition with China


TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The U.S. and China have agreed in principle for their leaders to hold a virtual summit before the end of the year, a senior U.S. official said on Wednesday (Oct. 6).

The tacit agreement came after a meeting on Wednesday between U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan and China's top diplomat Yang Jiechi (楊潔篪). The two met behind closed doors at an airport hotel in the Swiss city of Zurich.

The last time they saw one another was at a bilateral summit in Alaska in March. At that time there was considerable nationalist rhetoric and moral grandstanding between the two.

Taiwan was reportedly discussed at the meeting, a White House spokesperson said. The lead-up to the meeting saw heightened tensions in the Taiwan Strait and a statement from U.S. President Joe Biden saying his country would abide by what he called the “Taiwan Agreement.”

Other contentious issues were touched upon too, including the South China Sea, human rights, Hong Kong, and Xinjiang, per reports. Both Beijing and Washington said the talks, which lasted six hours, were constructive and candid.

The U.S. side said the tone was very different from Alaska. "We do have out of today's conversation an agreement in principle to hold a virtual bilateral (summit) meeting before the end of the year," the U.S. official told reporters.

Meanwhile, China’s Xinhua news agency quoted Yang as saying the U.S. needs to have a deeper understanding of the mutually beneficial nature of China-U.S. relations, adding that Beijing opposes defining China-U.S. relations as "competitive."

The meeting’s constructive tone should not be viewed as an about turn in Washington’s policy toward Beijing though, per reports. "What we are trying to achieve is a steady state between the United States and China where we are able to compete intensely but to manage that competition responsibly," the official said.

Earlier this week, news broke that Xi Jinping (習近平) will not be attending the G20 summit in Rome this month, citing China’s COVID-19 travel restrictions. The Chinese leader has not set foot outside of China in over 600 days, per Bloomberg.

His absence from the upcoming high-profile gathering of the world’s 20 largest economies means his extended stay at home looks set to continue.