Paris, March 12, 2023 (EIRNS)—According to a Radio France International wire today: “Three months after a Chinese surveillance balloon was destroyed over the United States, dialogue is resuming between Beijing and Washington. U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and Chinese diplomatic chief Wang Yi met in Vienna on Wednesday 10 and Thursday 11 May to discuss Ukraine and Taiwan, among other issues.
“In diplomatic language, this is called keeping the lines of communication open. And this surprise tête-à-tête, on neutral ground, between the American national security advisor and the director of the Chinese Communist Party’s central foreign affairs office is a sign that the channels of communication are (re)functioning between the United States and China.
“And if there is no talk of a warming between the two leading powers yet, it looks like it. This is the first meeting of this level since last June. The discussions were ‘frank, substantive and constructive,’ notes Xinhua.
In two days, Wang Yi and Jake Sullivan had time to discuss “Global and regional security issues, Russia’s war on Ukraine and cross-strait issues,” the White House said in a statement. A resumption of dialogue is part of a long diplomatic journey between the two powers in recent weeks. The chancelleries had to get out the oars to try to close the wounds of the destroyed surveillance balloon in the American sky. “This unfortunate incident has led to some pause” in contacts, a senior White House official added, indicating that Washington was seeking to “re-establish regular channels of communication.”
“…(O)n Twitter Wednesday, U.S. Ambassador to Beijing Nicholas Burns said he was ‘delighted’ to have been able to meet with Wang Wentao, China’s Commerce Minister. U.S. climate envoy John Kerry said last week that Chinese authorities had invited him to visit China ‘soon.’ And Antony Blinken, the U.S. Secretary of State, said he hoped to be able to make a visit to China, postponed because of the balloon affair, by the end of this year.”
Austria’s Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg claimed Vienna’s merit for facilitating the Sullivan-Wang Yi meeting. “Vienna will continue to be available as a place for dialogue for meetings of this kind also in the future,” he added. “Open and constructive channels of dialogue between the U.S. and China are important for regional and international security.”
