Highlights from The Wire's interview with top Biden administration Asia policy adviser Kurt Campbell.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen shakes hands with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng during a meeting at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, China, July 8, 2023. Credit: Mark Schiefelbein via AP Photos
Chinese officials have in recent months abruptly decided to re-engage with their U.S. counterparts after previously stonewalling efforts at dialogue, Kurt Campbell, deputy assistant to the president and coordinator for Indo-Pacific Affairs, has told The Wire China.
“It wasn't very long ago that China was arguing that no, we're not going to engage with the United States anymore. And suddenly, that changed a few months ago,” Campbell says in an in-depth interview with Bob Davis that can be read here.
China’s willingness to re-engage with the U.S. government has led to recent trips to Beijing by the U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. Such trips have aimed to lower the temperature in otherwise tense bilateral relations by opening the lines of communication on issues of shared interest, like economics and climate change, Campbell says.
The increased dialogue has not yet led to substantive new policy agreements or forms
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