US’s National Security Adviser (NSA) and one of the close aides of Joe Biden Jake Sullivan will hold a meeting with China’s Yang Jiechi, politburo member of the Chinese Communist Party and director of the office of foreign affairs commission, in Rome on Monday.
Touted as the first high-level in-person engagement between US and China, the meeting comes amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Concerns are soaring that China is amplifying Russian disinformation in the Ukraine war and may help them to elude from economic sanctions.
Ahead of the meeting, US NSA said the meet was part of their ongoing efforts to keep open lines of communication between the two sides. The two sides will discuss ongoing efforts to manage competition between the two countries and the impact of Russia’s war against Ukraine on regional and global security.
US Security of State Antony Blinken and his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, have been in touch with each other following the Ukraine crisis. Blinken said that he had told Wang that China, as a country that often speaks about the sanctity of the principle of sovereignty, should “stand up and have its voice heard”. His talks with his counterpart lasted for over an hour last week.
Meanwhile, reports suggest that Russia has sought military equipment from China. Responding to which, China has said the assertion were disinformation from the United States.
