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| Photo Credit: Reuters

A senior U.S. military official warned his Chinese counterpart against Beijing’s “dangerous” moves in the South China Sea during the first talks of their kind between the commanders.

Washington and Beijing remain at odds on issues from trade to the status of self-ruled Taiwan and China’s increasingly assertive approach in disputed maritime regions.

Editorial |Competition and conflict: On the U.S.-China relationship 

But they have sought to re-establish regular military-to-military talks in a bid to prevent flashpoint disputes from spinning out of control.

Samuel Paparo, Commander of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, and Wu Yanan, head of the Chinese army’s Southern Theater Command talked via video call on Tuesday China time.

Mr. Paparo “underscored the importance of sustained lines of communication between the US military and the PLA,” a statement from his command said.

“Such discussions between senior leaders serve to clarify intent and reduce the risk of misperception or miscalculation,” he said.

But he also raised recent “unsafe interactions with U.S. allies” by the Chinese side.

Mr. Paparo “urged the PLA to reconsider its use of dangerous, coercive, and potentially escalatory tactics in the South China Sea and beyond,” the statement said, referring to the Chinese military by its official name.

Mr. Wu’s Southern Theater Command is responsible for the Beijing military’s activities in the South China Sea, where Chinese vessels have engaged in a series of high-profile confrontations with Philippine ships in recent months.

China claims almost all of the economically vital body of water despite competing claims from other countries and an international court ruling that its assertion has no legal basis.

This month, Beijing insisted it was defending its “rights” in the waters, after the Philippines released footage appearing to show a Chinese coast guard vessel ramming one of its ships during an at-sea confrontation.

‘In-depth’ talks

Beijing’s readout of the talks said that Wu held “an in-depth exchange of views” with his U.S. counterpart.

The two officials discussed “issues of common concern”, it added.

The talks were the first of their kind since China scrapped military communications with the United States in 2022 in response to then-U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan.

Tuesday’s high-level military dialogue between the geopolitical rivals comes on the heels of the first visit to China by a U.S. national security advisor since 2016.

Top White House aide Jake Sullivan visited Beijing last month, where he held talks with senior army official Zhang Youxia.

Mr. Sullivan’s meeting with Zhang saw the officials agree to hold a call between the two sides’ theatre commanders in the near future, the White House said.

The top aide also raised the importance of “freedom of navigation” in the South China Sea and “stability” in the Taiwan Strait, Washington said.

Mr. Zhang, in turn, warned that the status of the self-ruled island was “the first red line that cannot be crossed in China-U.S. relations”.

“China demands that the US halts military collusion with Taiwan, ceases arming Taiwan, and stops spreading false narratives related to Taiwan,” Mr. Zhang added.

He also asked the U.S. to “work with China to promote communication and exchanges between the two militaries and jointly shoulder the responsibilities of major powers”.

Hong Kong:

The United States and China resumed semi-official nuclear arms talks in March for the first time in five years, with Beijing’s representatives telling U.S. counterparts that they would not resort to atomic threats over Taiwan, according to two American delegates who attended.

The Chinese representatives offered reassurances after their U.S. interlocutors raised concerns that China might use, or threaten to use, nuclear weapons if it faced defeat in a conflict over Taiwan. Beijing views the democratically governed island as its territory, a claim rejected by the government in Taipei.

“They told the U.S. side that they were absolutely convinced that they are able to prevail in a conventional fight over Taiwan without using nuclear weapons,” said scholar David Santoro, the U.S. organiser of the Track Two talks, the details of which are being reported by Reuters for the first time.

Participants in Track Two talks are generally former officials and academics who can speak with authority on their government’s position, even if they are not directly involved with setting it. Government-to-government negotiations are known as Track One.

Washington was represented by about half a dozen delegates, including former officials and scholars at the two-day discussions, which took place in a Shanghai hotel conference room.

Beijing sent a delegation of scholars and analysts, which included several former People’s Liberation Army officers.

A State Department spokesperson said in response to Reuters’ questions that Track Two talks could be “beneficial”. The department did not participate in the March meeting though it was aware of it, the spokesperson said.

Such discussions cannot replace formal negotiations “that require participants to speak authoritatively on issues that are often highly compartmentalized within (Chinese) government circles,” the spokesperson said.

Members of the Chinese delegation and Beijing’s defence ministry did not respond to requests for comment.

The informal discussions between the nuclear-armed powers took place with the U.S. and China at odds over major economic and geopolitical issues, with leaders in Washington and Beijing accusing each other of dealing in bad faith.

The two countries briefly resumed Track One talks over nuclear arms in November but those negotiations have since stalled, with a top U.S. official publicly expressing frustration at China’s responsiveness.

The Pentagon, which estimates that Beijing’s nuclear arsenal increased by more than 20% between 2021 and 2023, said in October that China “would also consider nuclear use to restore deterrence if a conventional military defeat in Taiwan” threatened CCP rule.

China has never renounced the use of force to bring Taiwan under its control and has over the past four years stepped up military activity around the island.

The Track Two talks are part of a two-decade nuclear weapons and posture dialogue that stalled after the Trump administration pulled funding in 2019.

After the COVID-19 pandemic, semi-official discussions resumed on broader security and energy issues, but only the Shanghai meeting dealt in detail with nuclear weapons and posture.

Santoro, who runs the Hawaii-based Pacific Forum think-tank, described “frustrations” on both sides during the latest discussions but said the two delegations saw reason to continue talking. More discussions were being planned in 2025, he said.

Nuclear policy analyst William Alberque of the Henry Stimson Centre think-tank, who was not involved in the March discussions, said the Track Two negotiations were useful at a time of glacial U.S.-Chinese relations.

“It’s important to continue talking with China with absolutely no expectations,” he said when nuclear arms are at issue.

NO FIRST-USE?

The U.S. Department of Defense estimated last year that Beijing has 500 operational nuclear warheads and will probably field more than 1,000 by 2030.

That compares to 1,770 and 1,710 operational warheads deployed by the U.S. and Russia respectively. The Pentagon said that by 2030, much of Beijing’s weapons will likely be held at higher readiness levels.

Since 2020, China has also modernised its arsenal, starting production of its next-generation ballistic missile submarine, testing hypersonic glide vehicle warheads and conducting regular nuclear-armed sea patrols.

Weapons on land, in the air and at sea give China the “nuclear triad” – a hallmark of a major nuclear power.

A key point the U.S. side wanted to discuss, according to Santoro, was whether China still stood by its no-first-use and minimal deterrence policies, which date from the creation of its first nuclear bomb in the early 1960s.

Minimal deterrence refers to having just enough atomic weapons to dissuade adversaries.

China is also one of two nuclear powers – the other being India – to have pledged not to initiate a nuclear exchange. Chinese military analysts have speculated that the no-first-use policy is conditional – and that nuclear arms could be used against Taiwan’s allies – but it remains Beijing’s stated stance.

Santoro said the Chinese delegates told U.S. representatives that Beijing maintained these policies and that “‘we are not interested in reaching nuclear parity with you, let alone superiority.'”

“‘Nothing has changed, business as usual, you guys are exaggerating’,” Santoro said in summarising Beijing’s position.

His description of the discussions was corroborated by fellow U.S. delegate Lyle Morris, a security scholar at the Asia Society Policy Institute.

A report on the discussions is being prepared for U.S. government but would not be made public, Santoro said.

‘RISK AND OPACITY’

Top U.S. arms control official Bonnie Jenkins told Congress in May that China had not responded to nuclear weapons risk reduction proposals that Washington raised during last year’s formal talks.

China has yet to agree to further government-to-government meetings.

Bejing’s “refusal to substantively engage” in discussions over its nuclear build-up raises questions around its “already ambiguous stated “no-first-use” policy and its nuclear doctrine more broadly,” the State Department spokesperson told Reuters.

China’s Track Two delegation did not discuss specifics about Beijing’s modernisation effort, Santoro and Morris said.

Albergue of the Henry Stimson Centre said that China relied heavily on “risk and opacity” to mitigate U.S. nuclear superiority and there was “no imperative” for Beijing to have constructive discussions.

China’s expanded arsenal – which includes anti-ship cruise missiles, bombers, intercontinental ballistic missiles and submarines – exceeded the needs of a state with a minimal deterrence and no-first-use policy, Alberque said.

Chinese talking points revolved around the “survivability” of Beijing’s nuclear weapons if it suffered a first strike, said Morris.

The U.S. delegates said the Chinese described their efforts as a deterrence-based modernisation programme to cope with developments such as improved U.S. missile defences, better surveillance capabilities, and strengthened alliances.

The U.S., Britain and Australia last year signed a deal to share nuclear submarine technology and develop a new class of boats, while Washington is now working with Seoul to coordinate responses to a potential atomic attack.

Washington’s policy on nuclear weapons includes the possibility of using them if deterrence fails, though the Pentagon says it would only consider that in extreme circumstances. It did not provide specifics.

One Chinese delegate “pointed to studies that said Chinese nuclear weapons were still vulnerable to U.S. strikes – their second-strike capability was not enough”, said Morris.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Washington:

US President Joe Biden has imposed heavy tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, batteries, steel, solar cells, and aluminium, saying it would ensure that American workers are not held back by unfair trade practices.

These include a 100 per cent tariff on electric vehicles, a 50 per cent tariff on semiconductors, and a 25 per cent tariff each on electric vehicle batteries from China.

In his address to the nation from the Rose Garden of the White House, Biden said America can continue to buy any kind of car they want, “but we’re never going to allow China to unfairly control the market for these cars. Period.” “I want fair competition with China, not conflict. We are in a stronger position to win that economic competition of the 21st century against China than anyone else because we’re investing in America again,” he said.

Biden alleged that for years, the Chinese government has poured state money into Chinese companies across a whole range of industries: steel and aluminium, semiconductors, electric vehicles, solar panels, and even critical health equipment, like gloves and masks.

China heavily subsidised all these products, pushing Chinese companies to produce far more than the rest of the world could absorb. Then dumping the excess products onto the market at unfairly low prices, driving other manufacturers around the world out of business, he said.

The prices are unfairly low because Chinese companies don’t need to worry about profit because the Chinese government subsidised them and subsidised them heavily. The Chinese also rely on other anti-competitive tactics, like forcing American companies to transfer their technology to do business in China, he said.

Biden said the new tariffs announced by him in key sectors of the economy are going to ensure that US workers are not held back by unfair trade practices.

American companies, he said, are investing tens of billions of dollars in electric vehicles and their batteries. “Our partners around the world are making similar investments. They also want a supply chain for electric vehicles that isn’t dominated by unfair trade practices from China,” he said.

Biden also slammed his predecessor Donald Trump on his China policy.

“My predecessor promised to increase American exports and boost manufacturing. But he didn’t either. He failed. He signed a trade deal with China. They were supposed to buy USD 200 billion more in American goods. Instead, China imports from America barely budged,” he alleged.

“And now, Trump and his MAGA Republicans want across-the-board tariffs on all imports from all countries, if reelected. Well, that would drive up costs for families on an average of USD 1,500 per year each year. He simply doesn’t get it,” he said.

At a White House news conference, US Trade Representative Katherine Tie said the previous administration’s trade deal with China failed to increase American exports or boost manufacturing. In fact, China’s exports in some critical sectors like EVs and batteries actually increased, Tie said.

“In response, President Biden signed a memorandum directing me to increase tariffs on critical manufacturing and mining sectors, including steel and aluminium, semiconductors, electric vehicles, batteries, solar cells, and certain critical minerals,” she said.

The increased tariffs are expected to cover approximately USD 18 billion of trade. The president also directed a process to request excluding certain production machinery from the tariffs to permit solar and clean manufacturers to purchase equipment while diversifying their suppliers.

Next week, she is expecting to issue a public notice that conveys the specific tariff lines, tariff rates, and timing for the proposed increases along with the details of the machinery exclusions process.

“This strong action by the president is strategic. As he has said, we do not seek to constrain China’s economic development, but we will insist on fair competition and defend American workers from the PRC’s unfair practices.

Today’s direction by the president defends American workers and businesses from the PRCs artificially cheap products, whether EVs or steel or critical minerals or semiconductors,” Tie said.

She also emphasised that the US continues to consult with its partners and allies who face similar threats from the Chinese unfair trade practices and are also voicing their concern with those unfair practices and taking action.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Washington:

China’s top diplomat voiced hope Thursday for more stable relations with the United States after months of turbulence as he paid a rare trip to Washington to prepare a potential visit by President Xi Jinping.

President Joe Biden has invited Xi to San Francisco to participate in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, but he has also stood firm on China in the run-up, keeping up a stream of targeted sanctions and staunchly backing US allies in disputes with Beijing.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi began by meeting Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who told his guest that he looked forward to “constructive conversations” that will include a dinner and more formal talks.

Wang told Blinken, who paid a visit to Beijing in June, that China wanted to “reduce misunderstanding.”

“We seek to expand cooperation that will benefit both sides so that we can stabilize US-China relations and return them to the track of healthy, stable and sustainable development,” Wang said.

Acknowledging that differences will still come up, Wang said that China hoped to respond “calmly, because we are of the view that what is right and what is wrong is not determined by who has the stronger arm or the louder voice.”

On Friday, Wang will speak at the White House with National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan. No meeting has been announced with Biden, but an encounter is widely expected after Xi received Blinken in Beijing.

US officials have repeatedly spoken of creating “guardrails” with China to prevent worst-case scenarios and have sought, without success, to restore contact between the two militaries.

“We’re going to compete with China (in) every way according to the international rules — economically, politically, in other ways. But I’m not looking for conflict,” Biden said Wednesday as he welcomed Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

Biden also warned China of US treaty obligations to the Philippines, which said that Chinese vessels deliberately hit Manila’s boats in dispute-rife waters — an account contested by Beijing.

Tensions have been particularly high over Taiwan, the self-ruling democracy claimed by Beijing which over the past year has launched major military exercises in response to actions by US lawmakers.

China’s defense ministry on Thursday accused Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party of pushing the island toward a “dangerous situation of war.”

– What are ‘stable’ ties? –

Robert Daly, director of the Wilson Center’s Kissinger Institute on China and the United States, said Wang will likely seek assurances that the Biden administration will not “embarrass” Xi if he comes to San Francisco, either through harsh new policies or public comments.

“They would like to have a smooth glide path and then a smooth exit from the meeting,” he said.

Daly said the two powers had very different views on what “stable” ties mean, with the United States having no intention of changing course from viewing China as a threat and applying pressure.

“By stabilization, we mean that we want to be able to do that without greatly increasing the chance of conflict,” Daly said.

“The Chinese view is that stabilization would mean America ceasing this relentless stream of provocations and insults such that China is free to focus on its extremely weak domestic economy,” he said.

The Biden administration in recent months has tightened export curbs on chips to China, stepped up military support for Taiwan and issued sanctions targeting individual Chinese over support for Iran’s drone program and over production of chemicals that make fentanyl, the painkiller behind an addiction epidemic in the United States.

Biden has also championed alliances in the face of China’s rise. He has forged a new three-way military alliance with Australia and Britain and promoted the “Quad” with Australia, India and Japan.

The United States and China have also traded barbs over the conflict in the Middle East, where Biden has been Israel’s foremost ally.

The diplomacy with China comes as the United States enters an election season in which Biden’s predecessor Donald Trump, who is seeking to return to the White House, has made hawkish criticism of Beijing a signature policy.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Washington:

President Joe Biden will host a second summit with Pacific island leaders this week, part of a U.S. charm offensive to block further Chinese inroads into a strategic region Washington has long considered its own backyard.

During the three-day meeting, the U.S. will announce diplomatic recognition for two Pacific islands, promise new money for infrastructure, including to improve Internet connectivity via undersea cables, and honor regional leaders at an NFL game.

Biden held an inaugural summit with the islanders at the White House a year ago and was due to meet them again in Papua New Guinea in May. That plan was scrapped when a U.S. debt- ceiling crisis forced Biden to cut short an Asia trip.

At last year’s summit with 14 Pacific island nations, Biden’s administration pledged to help islanders fend off China’s “economic coercion” and a joint declaration resolved to strengthen their partnership, saying they shared a vision for a region where “democracy will be able to flourish.”

The White House said this year’s effort would focus on priorities including climate change, economic growth, sustainable development, public health and countering illegal fishing.

The United States will also officially recognize the Cook Islands and another small nation, Niue, for the first time during the summit.

In Baltimore on Sunday, the leaders will see a Coast Guard cutter in the harbor and be briefed on combating illegal fishing by the Commandant of the Coast Guard, an official said.

The leaders will also attend Sunday’s football game between the Baltimore Ravens and the Indianapolis Colts. Dozens of NFL players are of Pacific Islander heritage.

SOME SKIP SUMMIT

Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare, who has deepened his country’s ties with China, will skip the summit. A senior Biden administration official said the U.S. was “disappointed” by Sogavare’s decision.

Washington appears to have made no progress on offers of substantial infrastructure funding and expanded aid to the Solomons. Sogavare visited China in July, announcing a policing agreement with Beijing that builds on a security pact signed last year.

The White House in 2022 said the U.S. would invest more than $810 million in expanded programs to aid the Pacific islands.

Meg Keen, director of Pacific Island Programs at Australia’s Lowy Institute, said that while the U.S. had opened new embassies and USAID offices in the region since last year’s summit, Congress had yet to approve the funds.

She added that Pacific island countries “welcome the U.S. re-engagement with the region, but don’t want geopolitical tussles to result in an escalation of militarization.” Vanuatu Prime Minister Sato Kilman will also not attend the summit, his office told Reuters.

Kilman was elected by lawmakers two weeks ago to replace Ishmael Kalsakau, who lost a no-confidence vote for actions including signing a security pact with U.S. ally Australia.

The U.S. is still negotiating to open an embassy in Vanuatu, but has not significantly increased its engagement with the nation, which counts China as its largest external creditor. China last month sent police experts to Vanuatu and signed a policing agreement.

A senior Biden administration official said the U.S. was on track to open the Vanuatu embassy by early next year and that other Vanuatu officials would attend the summit.

Fiji has welcomed the stronger U.S. regional presence as making the Pacific “more secure,” but Kiribati, one of the most remote Pacific island states, 2,500 miles (4,000 km) southwest of Hawaii, said this year it plans to upgrade a former World War Two airstrip with Chinese assistance.

Washington renewed agreements this year with Palau and Micronesia that give it exclusive military access to strategic parts of the Pacific, but has yet to do so with the Marshall Islands, which wants more money to deal with the legacy of massive U.S. nuclear testing in the 1940s and 50s.

A Biden administration official said it was confident of concluding a deal with the Marshall Islands.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will travel to New Delhi to participate in the G20 leaders summit from September 7-10, making her fourth visit to India in 10 months, the Treasury Department said on Thursday.

Ms. Yellen intends to focus at the summit on strengthening the global economy and supporting low-and middle-income countries by advancing efforts on debt restructurings, the evolution of multilateral development banks (MDBs) and building International Monetary Fund trust fund resources, the Treasury said.

She will “continue to build momentum” for her drive to evolve the World Bank and other multilateral lenders to boost financing capacity to aid developing countries’ clean energy transitions, tackle pandemics, fragility and conflict, it said.

The Treasury estimates that the lenders collectively can unlock $200 billion in new financing over a decade with balance sheet measures now being implemented or under discussion.

Also read | IMF managing director to attend G20 summit in Delhi after trips to China and Indonesia

The Treasury said Ms. Yellen also will rally America’s G20 allies to maintain economic support for Ukraine and increase costs on Russia over Moscow’s continuing war in Ukraine. This includes supporting the G7-led price cap on Russian oil exports and efforts to strengthen global food security in the face of restrictions on Ukrainian grain exports.

At the same time, the Treasury said Ms. Yellen will work to deepen U.S. bilateral ties with India, a country she first described last November as a prime “friend-shoring” destination and alternative to China for U.S. investment and supply chains.

Also read | Help us make G20 summit a success: PM Modi

Treasury’s statement did not mention specific bilateral meetings.

On the sidelines of last year’s G20 Summit in Indonesia, Ms. Yellen met with the People’s Bank of China’s then-governor Yi Gang in first of several face-to-face meetings with senior Chinese officials in recent months to ease rocky U.S.-China ties, culminating in her visit to Beijing in July.