Washington: CIA Director William Burns made a secret trip to China last month, hoping to shore up lines of communication Beijing An American official said this on Friday amid a deep chill in bilateral relations.
“Last month, Director Burns traveled to Beijing where he met with Chinese counterparts and emphasized the importance of maintaining open lines of communication across intelligence channels,” the official said on condition of anonymity.
The official did not provide any other details about the timing of the visit or the meeting with Burns. The Central Intelligence Agency does not discuss the Director’s visits as a policy.
But Washington has been scrambling to improve ties with China amid tensions over Taiwan’s status, with both sides warning at the risk of a military conflict.
Washington has also accused China of considering supplying military goods to Russia in support of its invasion of Ukraine, which China denies.
Earlier this year US Secretary of State Antony Blinken canceled a long-planned ice-breaker visit to Beijing after a Chinese surveillance balloon crossed the United States mainland before it could land. An American fighter jet was flying over sensitive military bases before it was shot down.
State Department officials say Blinken is still expected to leave when conditions improve.
Earlier on Friday, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and his Chinese counterpart Li Shangfu spoke briefly at a security forum in Singapore after several months in which troops from the two sides did not communicate directly at a senior level.
Their short talks came after Beijing declined the Pentagon’s invitation for a formal meeting in Singapore.
The United States has also angered Beijing by restricting American exports to China of advanced microchips, chip technologies and manufacturing equipment, while pressuring allies to do Washington’s side.
And Washington has blamed China for not doing enough to stop the export of the chemical that is turned into deadly fentanyl in Mexico and sold in the United States.
China, for its part, has imposed pressure and limits on some US businesses operating in the country, underscoring the competition between the world’s two largest economies.
US President at the G7 meeting in Japan last month Joe Biden predicted that relations between Washington and Beijing would soon thaw after the February balloon incident.
After that, “everything changed in terms of talking to each other. I think you’ll see that thaw very soon,” Biden Said in Hiroshima.
On Friday the White House national security adviser made a different proposal to Beijing, saying it should be part of a nuclear arms deal between the United States and Russia because of the rapid build-up of nuclear weapons supplies.
“In terms of trying to agree on borders, we are also prepared to engage China without any preconditions,” Sullivan said.
“Last month, Director Burns traveled to Beijing where he met with Chinese counterparts and emphasized the importance of maintaining open lines of communication across intelligence channels,” the official said on condition of anonymity.
The official did not provide any other details about the timing of the visit or the meeting with Burns. The Central Intelligence Agency does not discuss the Director’s visits as a policy.
But Washington has been scrambling to improve ties with China amid tensions over Taiwan’s status, with both sides warning at the risk of a military conflict.
Washington has also accused China of considering supplying military goods to Russia in support of its invasion of Ukraine, which China denies.
Earlier this year US Secretary of State Antony Blinken canceled a long-planned ice-breaker visit to Beijing after a Chinese surveillance balloon crossed the United States mainland before it could land. An American fighter jet was flying over sensitive military bases before it was shot down.
State Department officials say Blinken is still expected to leave when conditions improve.
Earlier on Friday, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and his Chinese counterpart Li Shangfu spoke briefly at a security forum in Singapore after several months in which troops from the two sides did not communicate directly at a senior level.
Their short talks came after Beijing declined the Pentagon’s invitation for a formal meeting in Singapore.
The United States has also angered Beijing by restricting American exports to China of advanced microchips, chip technologies and manufacturing equipment, while pressuring allies to do Washington’s side.
And Washington has blamed China for not doing enough to stop the export of the chemical that is turned into deadly fentanyl in Mexico and sold in the United States.
China, for its part, has imposed pressure and limits on some US businesses operating in the country, underscoring the competition between the world’s two largest economies.
US President at the G7 meeting in Japan last month Joe Biden predicted that relations between Washington and Beijing would soon thaw after the February balloon incident.
After that, “everything changed in terms of talking to each other. I think you’ll see that thaw very soon,” Biden Said in Hiroshima.
On Friday the White House national security adviser made a different proposal to Beijing, saying it should be part of a nuclear arms deal between the United States and Russia because of the rapid build-up of nuclear weapons supplies.
“In terms of trying to agree on borders, we are also prepared to engage China without any preconditions,” Sullivan said.