Several meetings between the highest-ranking US officials and China’s military took place when the US National Security Adviser paid a three-day visit to Beijing with the main purpose of opening up dialogue between the two nations.
Jake Sullivan met with General Zhang Youxia, the vice chairman of the Central Military Commission, on Thursday. This visit occurs against the backdrop of continued security threats between China and America’s partners in the region, such as Japan and the Philippines.
The main issues brought up by Sullivan are: “stability” in the Taiwan Strait as the administration of the island should not be allowed to proceed with actions that could provoke Beijing, claims that the US will uphold the freedom of navigation in the South China Sea; China’s support for Russia’s defense capabilities against threats from Taiwan, India, and Japan; as well as the need to implement a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip as it was stated in the White House statement.
Speaking about Taiwan, Zhang emphasized that the status of the self-governing island is one of the ‘two red lines’ or untouchable issues in China-US relations. The General was insisting that Taiwan’s independence and ‘peace and stability’ of the Taiwan Straits couldn’t coexist. Zhang demanded that the US release the letter suspending military cooperation with Taiwan, stop providing weapons to the island, and stop spreading rumors concerning Taiwan.
Before the discussions, Zhang agreed with Sullivan that the US cherishes such things as military security and our military-to-military relationship. During the discussions, Sullivan stated that he appreciated the event and– stating the obvious –said that such dialogue is rather rare.
