Photo: South China Morning Post-
Metropolis Desk –
According to a U.S. official, William Burns, the director of the CIA, visited Beijing in May to speak with Chinese colleagues. This was the highest-level visit by a Biden administration official since an alleged Chinese spy balloon was shot down by American forces.
The Financial Times was the first to report on Burns’ visit, which comes as Washington works to ease tensions with Beijing over the balloon and other recent disputes between the two biggest economies and geopolitical foes in the globe.
Longtime Chinese outreach efforts have been rejected, according to U.S. officials. They assert that this increases the risk of miscommunication leading to conflict.
A U.S. official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss Burns’ classified schedule stated that “last month, Director Burns traveled to Beijing where he met with Chinese counterparts and stressed the importance of maintaining open lines of communication in intelligence channels.”
A second source acquainted with the travel, who also spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the trip, said that Burns only met with intelligence officials and did not meet with any of Beijing’s political or foreign policy elite.
Burns frequently travels undercover to speak with American foes, thanks to President Joe Biden. Late January 2021, Burns traveled to Moscow to meet with Vladimir Putin about signs that Russia was preparing to invade Ukraine once more.
The United States is still working to reschedule Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s trip to China, which had to be postponed since the Chinese balloon was passing over its soil.
At the opening supper of a security forum in Singapore on Friday, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin also had a “brief” conversation with Li Shangfu, China’s minister of national defense. China has already turned down Austin’s request for a meeting outside of the forum.
A senior Treasury official also met with China’s ambassador to Washington, Xie Feng, on Friday. His name is Undersecretary for International Affairs, Jay Shambaugh. Shambaugh and Xie, according to the Treasury Department, spoke on the value of “closely communicating on global macroeconomic and financial issues.”
Source – APnews
