Chinese Foreign Minister To Meet Biden's Advisors Amid Red Sea Conflict

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. (Source: Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs)

JAKARTA - China has confirmed Foreign Minister Wang Yi will meet with US President Joe Biden's top adviser on national security affairs, Jake Sullivan, in Bangkok during a three-day visit to Thailand.

In a statement, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said Wang Yi would be in Thailand until Monday at the invitation of Thailand's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Parnpree Bahiddha-Nukara,

According to the agreement between China and the US, Wang Yi will meet with US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan in Bangkok," Wang said as quoted by ANTARA from Anadolu, Friday, January 26.

Earlier, the UK daily Financial Times reported Wang and Sullivan would hold secret talks on Friday and Saturday in Thailand on efforts to improve relations between Beijing and Washington.

The two senior officials had held two secret meetings last year in Vienna and Malta. The meeting paved the way for President Xi Jinping and Biden to meet in November last year, according to the report.

Relations between the US and China deteriorated during the Donald Trump administration, mainly due to trade wars. Since then, tensions between the two countries have remained high, mainly due to the conflict in Taiwan and allegations that China has flown spy balloons in the US region.

However, tensions began to ease since Xi and Biden met last year when top military officials of the two countries also held a virtual meeting in December 2023 for the first time in more than a year.

The meeting between Wang and Sullivan also came after China called for an end to attacks on civilian ships, and urged related parties not to worsen the conflict in the Red Sea.

Earlier, US and British troops said they had launched attacks on eight Houthi targets in Yemen in response to the group's attack on the Red Sea.

Yemen's Houthi group promised to retaliate against the attack.

"These attacks will not escape punishment," said Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree.

Tensions in the Red Sea are rising amid the Houthis' attack on commercial ships suspected of being linked to Israel.

The Houthi group said their attack was aimed at pressuring Israel to stop its deadly onslaught in the Gaza Strip.