WASHINGTON, Nov 12 (Reuters) – U.S. President Joe Biden desires to re-establish military-to-military ties with China, White House nationwide safety adviser Jake Sullivan mentioned on Sunday, days earlier than the president and the Chinese chief are set to meet.
Biden will meet Chinese President Xi Jinping in particular person for the primary time in a yr on Wednesday through the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in San Francisco. It will be solely the second in-person assembly between the 2 leaders since Biden took workplace in January 2021.
“The president is determined to see the re-establishment of military-to-military ties because he believes it’s in the U.S. national security interest,” Sullivan mentioned in an interview with CBS’ “Face the Nation.” “We need those lines of communication so that there aren’t mistakes or miscalculations or miscommunication.”
Sullivan mentioned restored military ties might happen at each stage from senior management to the tactical operational stage, as effectively “on the water and in the air in the Indo-Pacific.”
U.S. President Joe Biden meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the G20 leaders’ summit in Bali, Indonesia, November 14, 2022. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque Acquire Licensing Rights
Sullivan mentioned on CNN’s “State of the Union” that Biden would search to “advance the ball” on military ties throughout his assembly with Xi, however declined to present additional particulars.
“The Chinese have basically severed those communication links. President Biden would like to re-establish that,” Sullivan mentioned. “This is a top agenda item.”
The Biden-Xi assembly is anticipated to cowl world points from the Israel-Hamas conflict to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, North Korea’s ties with Russia, Taiwan, the Indo-Pacific, human rights, fentanyl manufacturing, synthetic intelligence, in addition to “fair” commerce and financial relations, a senior U.S. official mentioned.
Relations between the 2 international locations grew frosty after Biden ordered the taking pictures down in February of a suspected Chinese spy balloon that flew over the United States. But high Biden administration officers have since visited Beijing and met with their counterparts to rebuild communications and belief.
Reporting by Katharine Jackson, Arshad Mohammed and Andrea Shalal; Editing by Scott Malone and Grant McCool
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.