Critical visit to China by US diplomats

In a statement from the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel J. Kritenbrink and White House National Security Council Director for Relations with China and Taiwan, Sarah Beran, visited China.

Kritenbrink and Beran are the highest-ranking officials to visit Beijing since the hot-air balloon crisis.

The US diplomats met with Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Ma Caosu and Yang Tao, director of the Department of North American and Oceania Relations at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

At the meeting, which was attended by US Ambassador to Beijing Nicholas Burns, the sides exchanged views on “developing China-US relations and managing differences.”

In the statement made by the US regarding the meeting, it was noted that the meeting, which was said to be “candid, productive and constructive”, “is part of ongoing efforts to keep channels of communication open and maintain high-level diplomacy”. .

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken canceled his planned visit to China in February due to the escalation of the crisis when a balloon entering US airspace was shot down.

While diplomatic relations have been severely disrupted due to the crisis, US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and China’s top diplomat Vang Yi, Director of the Central Relations Commission Office Offices of the Communist Party of China (CCP), were in Vienna, Austria. , on May 10 and 11 During their meeting, he had taken steps to re-establish communication.