Senior US diplomat Daniel Kritenbrink to visit China amid tense ties

A senior US diplomat will visit Beijing next week, the State Department said on Saturday, the latest in a string of meetings as Washington tries to ease tensions with its "strategic competitor" and prevent relations from deteriorating further.

Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Kritenbrink will travel to China and New Zealand from June 4-10 to "discuss key issues in the bilateral relationship", the State Department said in a statement with no further details. He will be accompanied on the China leg by National Security Council Senior Director for China and Taiwan Affairs Sarah Beran.

Kritenbrink's visit follows reports of a secret trip to China by CIA Director William Burns last month and a meeting between US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and the director of China's Central Foreign Affairs Commission, Wang Yi, in Austria, also in May, as part of efforts to bolster communication.

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And last week, Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao met with US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo in Washington before travelling to Michigan to sit down with US Trade Representative Katherine Tai on the margins of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation trade meeting.

US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin, right, and his Chinese counterpart, Li Shangfu, at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on Saturday. Photo: AP alt=US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin, right, and his Chinese counterpart, Li Shangfu, at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on Saturday. Photo: AP>

But these early signs of bolstered contacts have not extended to the military. Beijing has continued to rebuff US efforts to improve defence ties, a stance that US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin criticised at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on Saturday after Chinese Defence Minister General Li Shangfu reportedly refused to meet him on the sidelines.

Beijing's reluctance to talk undermines efforts to maintain peace in a region where the two rivals are increasing their military firepower, Austin said at the conference, Asia's top security summit, which wraps up Sunday.

"For responsible defence leaders, the right time to talk is any time," Austin said, adding that Washington would not stand for "coercion and bullying" of its partners and allies by China.

Chinese officials in Singapore countered that Austin and other US officials have distorted the facts, are intent on encircling China and are undermining the one-China principle through weapon sales and increased exchanges with Taiwan. Both sides have warned of the growing risk of a military conflict over the self-governing island.

Other strains between the world's two largest economies include trade, technology and investment policies, China's human rights record and island building in the South China Sea.

Kritenbrink is expected to arrive on Sunday, June 4, the 34th anniversary of China's crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in Tiananmen Square. Secretary of State Antony Blinken noted in a separate statement on Saturday that the US will observe the anniversary.

"The victims' bravery will not be forgotten and continues to inspire advocates for these principles around the world," Blinken said, adding: "The United States will continue advocating for people's human rights and fundamental freedoms in China and around the world."

In November, Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Joe Biden laid out a road map for improving ties through a "step ladder" of visits by senior finance, trade and diplomatic officials, potentially leading to a Xi trip to San Francisco in November for the Apec summit.

Those confidence-building efforts ground to a halt, however, after a Chinese surveillance balloon crossed North America in late January and early February. Washington cancelled Blinken's scheduled February trip to China, and Beijing decried the downing of the balloon, accusing Washington of overreacting. Several lines of communication were cut as a result.

At the Group of 7 meeting in Japan last month, Biden forecast that ties between Washington and Beijing would thaw soon. The White House has said it was trying to arrange visits by Blinken, Raimondo and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen.

A major focus of Kritenbrink's trip will most likely be a possible Biden visit to China, but Kritenbrink will also fly to Auckland to participate in the US -New Zealand Strategic Dialogue before returning to Washington.

This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright © 2023 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.

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