(Aug 26): China will bring up issues related to Taiwan and “arbitrary measures” like tariffs when US National Security adviser Jake Sullivan visits this week, a trip aimed at maintaining dialogue between the geopolitical rivals.

“The Chinese side will focus on raising serious concerns, articulating its position and laying out serious demands on issues related to the Taiwan question, the right to development and China’s strategic security,” the official Xinhua news agency reported on Sunday, citing a Foreign Ministry official.

Beijing would also broach “tariffs, export control, investment review and unilateral sanctions” during Sullivan’s trip, which is scheduled for Tuesday to Thursday and include a meeting with Foreign Minister Wang Yi. Sullivan may also meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

Sullivan and Wang have met face-to-face every few months as part of President Joe Biden’s push to keep open lines of communication despite friction with China. The visit will be Sullivan’s first to the Asian nation as the president’s top national security aide.

Beijing has long complained about US measures to cut off China from high tech, including semiconductors, and about the White House’s efforts to work with allies on security and economic issues.

It has also expressed anger about Washington’s support for Taiwan, the democracy of 23 million people that Beijing has pledged to bring under its control someday. Biden has repeatedly said the US would defend Taiwan if China attacked, and Washington is Taipei’s main military backer. Last year, the US for the first time approved the transfer of weapons to Taiwan under a programme usually reserved for sovereign states.

Sullivan’s trip comes months before the US presidential election in November. A senior US official, who had earlier briefed reporters on condition of anonymity, said Sullivan would aim to make clear he won’t speak for the next administration, whoever may win.

Both Kamala Harris and Donald Trump have both said they’ll get tougher on Beijing, with Trump threatening across-the-board tariffs against all countries and a 60% duty on imports from China.

Sullivan will raise US concerns over China’s continued backing of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s forces, and restate positions on the South China Sea and Taiwan, the senior official said. The US has not yet accused China of providing direct lethal support to Russia but has instead said Beijing is enabling the war by supporting the Russian defence industrial base.

Also on Sunday, Beijing urged the US to “stop its wrong practices” after Chinese companies were included on a sanctions list designed to target supply chains feeding Russia and hobble its wartime economy.

The Xinhua article also indicated that Beijing would raise the topic of people-to-people exchanges, saying that “the US should work in the same direction with China and take more measures to facilitate the flow of people between the two countries.”

Xi recently pledged to bring 50,000 US students to his country to stabilise ties but so far those efforts have been marked by scripted events lacking open dialogue. 

Ambassador Nicholas Burns has also complained that Chinese security officials have interfered in US embassy and consulate efforts to host dozens of public events.

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