The White House announced on Wednesday (May 18) that U.S. National Security Advisor Sullivan had a phone call with Yang Jiechi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the top official in charge of foreign affairs.
Yang Jiechi, a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and the top official in charge of foreign affairs.
The White House statement said the call was another engagement after the March 14 meeting in Rome, Italy, where the discussions focused on regional security issues and nuclear non-proliferation.
The White House also said that Sullivan and Yang Jiechi also discussed specific issues in the Russia-Ukraine war and U.S.-China relations. The White House did not mention what the problems were with the U.S.-China relationship.
CCTV News confirmed the call between Sullivan and Yang Jiechi, saying that Yang Jiechi criticized “a series of wrong words and deeds taken by the US to interfere in China’s internal affairs and harm China’s interests.” Yang Jiechi said that China “resolutely opposes it and will respond vigorously”.
Yang Jiechi met with Sullivan in Rome earlier.
Yang Jiechi also warned the United States that if it insisted on playing the Taiwan card, it would “will certainly lead the situation to a dangerous situation.” Yang Jiechi also said that China will take “firm actions” to safeguard its own sovereignty and security interests and “do what it says”.
However, a report by the US media Bloomberg revealed that Yang Jiechi’s call with Sullivan also involved what Yang Jiechi said was the US’s interference with the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China scheduled to be held this fall.
The Bloomberg report quoted Yang Jiechi as saying in an article published in the People’s Daily on Monday that Beijing would “resolutely respond” to any words or deeds Washington made to suppress and control China ahead of the 20th Party Congress.
It is estimated that the U.S. has demands from China, so it requested a dialogue with the Chinese side. The Chinese side took the opportunity to warn the U.S. side not to make trouble before the CCP.
U.S. President Joe Biden will travel to South Korea and Japan later this week, in Tokyo for a summit of QUAD, the four-way security dialogue mechanism between Japan, India, Australia and the United States. Bloomberg said the main goal of the mechanism is to curb China’s regional influence. Biden’s trip to Asia will draw public attention to U.S.-China relations.
According to the Associated Press, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi held a video meeting with Japanese Foreign Minister Lin Fangzheng on Wednesday to criticize the summit of the US-Japan-India-Australia Quadrilateral Security Dialogue Mechanism. Wang Yi said that Japan and the United States are allies, and China and Japan have concluded a “Treaty of Peace and Friendship”. The bilateral cooperation between Japan and the United States “should not provoke confrontation between camps, much less harm China’s sovereignty, security and development interests.”
Wang Yi also threatened that Japan should not “take chestnuts out of the fire” for others or take the “wrong path of beggar-thy-neighbor”.