Report: Biden to dispatch adviser to China as he looks to sharpen policy focus

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BUELLTON, Calif. (AP) — President Joe Biden plans to dispatch his national security adviser Jake Sullivan to China as the White House aims to sharpen its focus on foreign policy in the Democrat’s final months in office.

Sullivan’s visit to meet with his counterpart, Wang Yi, is expected to take place next week, according to a person familiar with planning for the trip who spoke on the condition of anonymity. The White House is expected to announce plans for the trip later today.

Sullivan has met with Chinese officials several times over the course of the administration to discuss the two economic rivals complicated relationship, but this will be his first visit to China.

The expected announcement comes as Biden is vacationing in California’s Santa Ynez Valley.

The high-level visit by Sullivan to China could potentially set the ground for another face-to-face meeting for Biden with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

The two leaders last November spent four hours together at a bucolic Northern California estate — in meetings, a working lunch and a garden stroll — as they looked to steady a relationship that has been fraught for much of Biden’s time in office.

Their meeting led to modest agreements to combat illegal fentanyl and reestablish military communications. But there were still deep differences on economic competition and global security threats.

Still, Biden and Xi are looking to bring a greater measure of stability to a relationship that is being defined by differences over export controls, tensions over Taiwan, the wars in the Middle East and Europe, and more.

The Sullivan visit comes as both candidates looking to succeed Biden, Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris and Republican former President Donald Trump, are vowing to carry out tough China policies.