Introduction

China’s foreign minister Wang Yi and U.S. national security advisor Jake Sullivan recently met in Malta to discuss various issues. The talks took place ahead of a potential meeting between China’s President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Joe Biden at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders meeting scheduled for November.

Background

Wang and Sullivan had previously met in Vienna. The Malta meeting was arranged following visits made by several high-level officials to Beijing in recent months and just before Wang’s upcoming meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov later this week.

China’s Representation at the United Nations General Assembly

China’s Foreign Ministry announced that Vice President Han Zheng will represent the country at the United Nations General Assembly in New York this week, suggesting that Wang and Xi will not attend.

Characterization of the Talks

Both the White House and China’s Foreign Ministry described the two-day talks in Malta as “candid, substantive and constructive.” The White House emphasized that the meeting aimed to maintain open lines of communication and responsibly manage the relationship, while the Chinese side stated that the focus was on stabilizing and improving Sino-U.S. relations.

Discussion Topics

During their meeting, Wang and Sullivan addressed various issues, including global and regional security, Russia’s conflict with Ukraine, the situation in the Korean peninsula, and stability across the Taiwan Strait.

Notable Omissions

Although not officially on the agenda, the apparent disappearances of China’s former foreign minister Qin Gang and defense minister Li Shangfu were not discussed during Wang and Sullivan’s meeting in Malta. Wang had resumed his previous role as foreign minister after President Xi removed his successor Qin from the position.