US says "candid and substantive" meeting with China officials covered Ukraine war and North Korea threats

The meetings between US and Chinese officials in recent days were “candid and substantive” a senior administration official said, adding that the two sides exchanged views on issues including Russia’s aggression in Ukraine and DPRK threats to regional security on the Korean peninsula. 

The meetings took place in Langfang, China, and they “are the latest in a series of engagements and part of our ongoing diplomacy with the PRC,” the official explained. The dialogue followed President Biden’s meeting with President Xi Jinping on November 14 on the margins of the G20 in Bali.

The US officials met with Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Xie Feng on Dec. 11 and 12. The US delegation included Assistant Secretary Dan Kritenbrink, National Security Council Senior Director for China and Taiwan Laura Rosenberger, and Deputy Assistant Secretary for China and Taiwan China Coordinator Rick Waters.

One of the issues that the US side emphasized was the fact that “bringing home U.S. citizens who are wrongfully detained or subject to exit bans in China is a personal priority for the President,” the official said.

The US delegation also touched on topics and themes that have been ongoing themes in the Biden administration’s policy approach to China.

“As part of managing competition responsibly, Assistant Secretary Kritenbrink and Senior Director Rosenberger emphasized the importance of setting a floor under the bilateral relationship, to ensure that the United States and China maintain open lines of communication and manage the competition responsibly. They emphasized that competition must not veer into conflict,” the official said.

“Assistant Secretary Kritenbrink and Senior Director Rosenberger made clear that the United States would continue to compete vigorously, stand up for U.S. interests and values, defend the rules-based international order, and coordinate closely with allies and partners,” the official said.

After their meetings, Assistant Secretary Kritenbrink and Senior Director Rosenberger traveled to Seoul and Tokyo for consultations on a range of regional and bilateral issues from Dec 12 to 14, the official said.

Russian forces fired at least 30 shells in the central Dnipropetrovsk region overnight, while freed Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout has joined a pro-Kremlin ultranationalist party. US President Joe Biden is one of a number of world leaders who will hold a virtual meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday.

Exiled city mayor Ivan Fedorov initially claimed 200 Russians were killed, before rowing back the number of casualties to "dozens" dead. Yevgeny Balitsky, the Russian-installed governor of Zaporizhzhia region, where Meliopol is located, said that two people were killed and 10 more injured.

The leaders will "discuss the progress we’ve made together under Germany’s presidency to address the most pressing global challenges of our time," the senior official said.

Energy, as it relates to Ukraine and the European Union, will be a key topic.

“The Leaders will discuss Russia’s brutal war against Ukraine and coordinate our efforts to support Ukraine for as long as it takes. They will also discuss other priorities like addressing the climate crisis, food and energy security, the G7 Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment, and more. The G7 is more united than ever before and we look forward to further strengthening the partnership under Japan’s G7 Presidency in 2023,” the senior official said. 

The meeting comes after Biden and Zelensky spoke by phone Sunday. On the call, Biden highlighted how the US "is prioritizing efforts to strengthen Ukraine’s air defense through our security assistance,” the White House said in a statement.

-cnn