US and Chinese officials discuss Biden-Xi talks as American election heavily impacts relations

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Senior U.S. and Chinese officials discussed possible talks between U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping in the coming months as the two countries work toward stabilizing communications in their increasingly contentious relationship.

US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan concludes three days of talks with his counterparts in Beijing, where he met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission Gen. Zhang Youxia, the first meeting between a US official and a Chinese military officer in that capacity since 2018.

The meetings followed efforts by both sides last year to restore fragile channels of communication, even as US-China relations remain strained due to a number of frictions, including Beijing's aggression in the South China Sea and toward Taiwan, and US trade controls against China.

In addition, Beijing is closely monitoring the upcoming US elections. A change of government in January could have an impact on the development of relations between the world's two largest economies.

Statements from both sides suggested that some sort of phone call or talks between Biden and Xi could be possible in the coming weeks, even though the US president knows that he will no longer be in the White House next year, regardless of who wins the election.

At Sullivan's meeting with Wang, both sides welcomed “ongoing efforts to maintain open channels of communication, including planning a government-level call in the coming weeks,” a White House statement said after the meetings on Tuesday and Wednesday.

A statement by the Chinese Foreign Ministry said they had discussed a “new round of cooperation between the two heads of state.”

Expectations that this meeting would result in any significant progress on the sticking points in the relationship were low, especially given the upcoming US elections.

“There is no strong incentive on either side to act aggressively … because of the election, both are in a wait-and-see attitude” while trying to maintain existing relations without incident, said Liu Dongshu, assistant professor at the City University of Hong Kong.

Democratic vice presidential candidate Kamala Harris is expected to maintain some continuity with Biden's China policy, while Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has maintained a combative and volatile relationship with China and has threatened a comprehensive expansion of US tariffs on Chinese imports if re-elected.

Both sides said Wang and Sullivan also discussed plans for a conference call between the commanders of their respective military areas.

Such talks – part of a broader resumption of regular military discussions following a meeting between Biden and Xi in November – would involve both commanders of American forces in the Indo-Pacific and those directing Chinese strategy in the southern and eastern theaters.

The Biden administration has been pushing for months to move direct talks between the two world powers beyond the top brass to uniformed officials who make decisions in the region. The call has not yet been planned, a US official told CNN.

Wang and Sullivan's discussion of military communications comes against a backdrop of particularly heightened tensions in the South China Sea, where Chinese and Philippine ships have been involved in a series of violent but non-lethal confrontations in recent months.

The commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, Admiral Samuel Paparo, had suggested earlier this week that the US might escort Philippine ships through the South China Sea, which Beijing claims almost entirely despite a major international ruling to the contrary.

At his meeting on Thursday with Zhang, a senior official of China's powerful Central Military Commission, Sullivan stressed “the US commitment to freedom of navigation in the South China Sea” and “the importance of peace and stability between both sides of the strait” with reference to Taiwan, according to a White House statement.

Sullivan also addressed cyberspace, efforts to reach a ceasefire in the Gaza war and American concerns about China's alleged support for the Russian arms industry in its war against Ukraine.

In his opening remarks ahead of the meeting, which took place at Chinese military headquarters in Beijing, Sullivan acknowledged that such an exchange was “rare.”

“Given the situation in the world and the need for us to responsibly manage US-China relations, I think this is a very important meeting,” he told Zhang.

Zhang called on the United States to “correct its strategic understanding of China, return to a rational and pragmatic policy toward China, and sincerely respect China's core interests.” He described Taiwan as “the core of China's core interests,” according to a statement published in Chinese state media.

The general also called on both sides to “maintain stability in the military and security spheres.”

Before these talks, Sullivan met with Wang for two days. It was the fifth time in the past year and a half that the two politicians had met in different locations. The last meeting was in Bangkok in January.

The two agreed to advance their cooperation in areas such as counter-narcotics and the security and risks of AI – but, as expected, left little room for major friction in the relationship.

Wang stressed the importance of coexistence between the US and China, calling on the US to stop arming Taiwan and support China's “reunification” with the island, an autonomous democracy claimed by Beijing.

The senior Chinese diplomat also called on the US to “stop suppressing China in the economic, trade and science and technology sectors” and described American concerns about China's overcapacity in production as “an excuse for protectionism”.

Sullivan said the US would “continue to take the necessary measures to prevent advanced US technologies from being used to undermine our national security” and expressed concern about China's “unfair trade policies”.

The Biden administration announced earlier this year that it would maintain a series of comprehensive import tariffs on Chinese goods – with significant increases expected soon for categories such as semiconductors and electric vehicles. It has also imposed controls on Chinese access to advanced American technology that could serve both civilian and military purposes.

China responded by restricting the export of certain materials that are crucial for the production of high-tech goods.

The U.S. has also included Chinese companies in sanctions against the Russian war machine, including a set released Friday. U.S. officials have repeatedly warned that China's exports of dual-use goods to Russia support the Russian defense industry and enable Moscow's war in Ukraine – a charge Beijing denies.

Sullivan's visit comes ahead of a series of high-level multilateral summits in the coming months that could provide a platform for Biden and Xi to meet again late in Biden's presidency.

CNN's Kayla Tausche, Haley Britzky and Shawn Deng contributed to this report.