Her visit coincides with Sino-Japanese and Sino-Philippines disputes on territory of the South China Sea.
Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary, Yoshimasa Hayashi, later in the day on Tuesday, said the airspace invasion, the first by a military aircraft, was not only a violation of the country’s sovereignty but also insecurity.
On the same note, the Philippine defense chief on Tuesday declared China the biggest threat to peace in the Southeast Asian region, given the confrontations this week between Philippine and Chinese vessels near a disputed shoal in the South China Sea.
Sullivan arrived at Beijing’s capital airport at 1:59 p.m. Beijing time, which is 6:00 AM GMT. He was received by US Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns at the airport, and he was accompanied by the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs official Yang Tao.
Sullivan first met Wang at a resort on the northern outskirts of the Chinese capital, and, during the planned meeting, the two partners shook hands in front of the flags of China and the United States.
During the speech that he made before the journalists, Wang characterized the China-US relations as “critical” that have upgrades and downgrades in turns.
Regarding the communication process, he said, “I hope, as always, the communication will be not only shallow but rather fruitful and at the same time very constructive.”.
