A top White House official says US and China are working to avoid conflict at talks in Beijing

The United States and China are working to ensure the competition between them does not veer into conflict, a top White House official said Tuesday as the two sides started talks on a relationship that has been severely tested during President Joe Biden’s term in office.

Jake Sullivan, the U.S. national security adviser, is meeting over two days with Wang Yi, a senior foreign policy official for Chinese leader Xi Jinping, in a scenic lake area on the northern outskirts of Beijing. “President Biden has been very clear in his conversations with President Xi that he is committed to managing this important relationship responsibly,” Sullivan told Wang before the talks got underway.

The goal of his visit, which lasts through Thursday, is limited — to try to maintain communication in a relationship that broke down for the better part of a year in 2022-23 and was only nursed back over several months. No major announcements are expected, though Sullivan’s meetings could lay the groundwork for a possible final summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping before Biden steps down in January.