Xi-Biden interaction, red lines and agreements: Key takeaways from Sullivan's China visit

China and the United States have discussed having a new round of interaction between President Xi Jinping and his U.S. counterpart, Joe Biden, in the near term, said a Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) official at a media briefing on Thursday evening on U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan's visit to China.

The Chinese side drew four red lines in China-U.S. relations – Taiwan, democracy and human rights, the Chinese path and system, and China's right to development – in the latest round of strategic communication between the two sides, said Yang Tao, director general of the Department of North American and Oceanian Affairs of the MFA.

The two sides also agreed on a number of specific matters, including to hold in due course a theater commander-level video call between the two militaries and the second round of intergovernmental dialogue on artificial intelligence, among other institutionalized arrangements.

Sullivan visited China from Tuesday to Thursday for a round of China-U.S. strategic communication, in the first visit to China by a national security advisor to the U.S. president for eight years.

Xi met with Sullivan on Thursday. Wang Yi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and director of the Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs, held strategic communication with Sullivan on Tuesday and Wednesday in six sessions, totaling more than 11 hours. Zhang Youxia, vice chairman of the Central Military Commission, also met with Sullivan on Thursday.

Here are some key takeaways from the visit.

Head-of-state diplomacy

Xi stressed the importance of a right strategic perception during his meeting with Sullivan on Thursday afternoon at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

"When China and the United States, two major countries, engage with each other, the number one issue is to develop a right strategic perception, and they need to first and foremost find a good answer to the overarching question: Are China and the United States rivals or partners?" Xi said.

China's foreign policy is open and transparent and its strategic intentions are above board, both of which are highly consistent and stable, said the Chinese president.

Xi said China is focused on managing its own affairs well and will continue deepening reform comprehensively to further improve and develop a system of socialism with Chinese characteristics that suits China's national conditions.

China follows a path of peaceful development, the Chinese president added. While realizing its own development, China is also ready to work with other countries for common development, and to jointly build a community with a shared future for mankind, he said.

"In this changing and turbulent world, countries need solidarity and coordination, not division or confrontation," Xi said. "People want openness and progress, not exclusion or regress."

As two major countries, China and the United States should be responsible for history, for the people and for the world, and should be a source of stability for world peace and a propeller for common development, he stressed.

Xi said China's commitment to the goal of a stable, healthy and sustainable China-U.S. relationship remains unchanged, its principle in handling the relationship based on mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation remains unchanged, its position of firmly safeguarding the country's sovereignty, security and development interests remains unchanged, and its efforts to carry forward the traditional friendship between the Chinese and American people remain unchanged.

He expressed the hope that the U.S. will work with China in the same direction, view China and its development in a positive and rational light, see each other's development as an opportunity rather than a challenge, and work with China to find a right way for China and the U.S., two countries with different civilizations, systems and paths, to coexist in peace and achieve common development on this planet.

The Chinese president's remarks provide strategic and overarching guidance critical to the direction of China-U.S. relations, and are China's most authoritative statement on China-U.S. relations, said Yang.

Head-of-state diplomacy always provides strategic guidance for China-U.S. relations, he said. "This is a view shared by both sides."

In the past four years, the two presidents have steered the course and provided the anchor for the bilateral relationship, said Yang.

"From the Bali understandings to the San Francisco vision, head-of-state diplomacy has provided a ballast as the relationship navigates through wind and rain, and will continue to be a source of propellant that moves the relationship forward," he said, referring to the face-to-face meetings between Xi and Biden on the Indonesian island in November 2022 and in the U.S. city in November 2023.

Yang said the strategic communication channel between the director of the Office of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission and the U.S. national security advisor was established according to the common understanding between the two presidents.

"Its primary task is to support head-of-state diplomacy and follow up on the important common understandings reached by the two presidents," he said.

In this round of strategic communication, the two sides discussed having a new round of interaction between the two presidents in the near term, said Yang.

"This will be conducive to further leveraging the strategic guidance of head-of-state diplomacy, and bringing stability and certainty to China-U.S. relations and to a changing and turbulent world."

Five keys

From Tuesday to Wednesday, Wang and Sullivan held the fourth round of China-U.S. strategic communication in Beijing, with both sides calling the discussions "candid, substantive and constructive."

The talks came following the pair's rounds of strategic communication in Vienna in May 2023, Malta in September 2023 and Bangkok in January 2024. They also met in Washington D.C. in October 2023.

During the latest meeting, Wang summed up the experience and lessons from the engagement between China and the U.S. in the past few years as "five keys," said Yang.

Wang said, first, the key to keeping the China-U.S. relations to the right direction lies in the guidance and stewardship of the two presidents.

Second, the key to avoiding conflict and confrontation between China and the United States lies in abiding by the three joint communiques.

Third, the key to smooth interactions between China and the United States lies in treating each other as equals.

Fourth, the key to a steady and sustained China-U.S. relationship lies in cementing the popular foundation.

And fifth, the key to peaceful coexistence between China and the United States lies in developing a right perception, said Wang.

These "five keys" will help the two sides chart a better future and find a right way for the two major countries to get along with each other, said Yang, the MFA official.

Four red lines

Yang said Taiwan, democracy and human rights, the Chinese path and system, and China's right to development are the four red lines China has drawn in China-U.S. relations.

The Chinese side stressed that the Taiwan question is the first and foremost red line that must not be crossed in China-U.S. relations; China's political system and development path must not be challenged; and the Chinese people's right to development must not be deprived, he said.

"Touching these red lines would take away the floor for China-U.S. relations, and render the guardrails useless," said Yang.

"Taiwan independence" is the biggest risk to peace and stability in the Taiwan Straits, he reiterated.

Yang urged the U.S. to honor its commitments with real actions, abide by the one-China principle and the three China-U.S. joint communiques, stop arming Taiwan region, and support China's peaceful reunification, since it has stated many times that it is committed to the one-China policy, it does not support "Taiwan independence," and it does not support "two Chinas" or "one China, one Taiwan."

Agreements on specific matters

During the latest round of strategic communication, China and the U.S. took stock of the progress made in implementing the important common understandings of the Xi-Biden meeting in San Francisco last November, and agreed to continue the implementation, said Yang.

The two sides agreed on a number of specific matters, including maintaining high-level exchanges and communication at various levels, continuing cooperation in such areas as anti-narcotics, law enforcement, repatriation of illegal immigrants and tackling climate change.

Both agreed to hold in due course a theater commander-level video call between the two militaries and the second round of intergovernmental dialogue on artificial intelligence, among other institutionalized arrangements.

The two sides also agreed to maintain communication on international and regional hotspots including the Middle East, Ukraine and the Korean Peninsula.

"These new outcomes will help the two sides remove interference, overcome obstacles, and move toward the San Francisco vision, and jointly promote a healthy, stable and sustainable China-U.S. relationship," said Yang.

On trade and tech curbs

During his talks with Sullivan, Wang urged the U.S. side to stop suppressing China in the fields of economy, trade and technology.

Using "overcapacity" as an excuse to engage in protectionism will only harm global green development and hurt world economic growth, he added.

In response to questions from the media, Yang on Thursday slammed the so-called "small yard with high fences" of the United States, which he said has kept expanding and become limitless.

"The so-called 'national security' has become a basket in which anything can be put. The narrative of so-called 'overcapacity' is but another excuse for protectionism," Yang said.

Behind these lie a U.S. misperception of China, and its hegemonic mentality of seeking absolute security and absolute advantage, he said.

Yang said the United States should know that it is impossible for China to permanently stay at the medium and low end of the industrial chain, and China has the capability, the need and the right to climb up toward the medium and high end.

The United States should also know that China-U.S. economic and trade relations are mutually beneficial in nature, and suppressing China's economic and technological advancement hurts itself as well as others, and will not succeed, he said.

On South China Sea

On the South China Sea issue, Yang pointed out that China is steadfast in its resolve to defend its territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests, and committed to upholding the seriousness and effectiveness of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea.

Developing alliances and partnerships is a choice for the United States itself, but it should not use it to hurt China's interests, he said.

The Philippines should keep its word, and the United States should also do things that are conducive to regional peace and stability, said Yang.

On Ukraine

On Ukraine, Yang stressed that China's position, which boils down to promoting peace talks and political settlement, is above board and transparent.

"We do not seek gains from the conflict, still less do we fuel the flames. We will continue doing the right things," he said.

He added that China follows an independent foreign policy of peace, and does not seek alliance nor bloc confrontation. "This is our basic principle in handling relations with all countries."

The United States should stop spreading the false narrative of "China supporting Russia's defense industrial base," and stop smearing, scapegoating or shifting the blame onto China, said Yang. "Still less should it wield illegal, unilateral sanctions."