China and the United States hold a new round of high-level meetings

Global Times comprehensive report: At the invitation of Thai Vice Premier and Foreign Minister Bambi, Wang Yi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and Minister of Foreign Affairs, visited Thailand from January 26th to 29th. As agreed by both China and the United States, Wang Yi will hold a new round of meetings with Assistant to the US President for National Security Affairs, Sullivan, in Bangkok. According to Agence France Presse, this is the first meeting between Wang Yi and Sullivan since the San Francisco summit between China and the United States, and China and the United States are seeking to reach a more stable bilateral relationship in 2024.   On the occasion of the new round of high-level meetings between China and the United States, the situation in the Red Sea is rapidly escalating. The United States and the West are at a loss for this. On the one hand, they are using force to strike against the Yemeni Hussai armed forces, and on the other hand, there are rumors of constantly urging China to intervene and mediate the tense situation. Multiple US media outlets have reported that Sullivan will discuss with Wang Yi during the meeting the issue of Hu's armed attack on commercial shipping in the Red Sea, hoping that China will "exert influence" on Iran to prevent the actions of Hu's armed forces. Chinese scholars have stated that the "pressure transmission chain" in the US perception is not established, and the US wants to shift the responsibility for regional crises onto China as much as possible. China will certainly seek peace in the Red Sea within its capabilities, but this has nothing to do with the so-called "call" from the United States.
"Continuation of positive momentum"
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin stated at a regular press conference on the 26th that maintaining strategic communication between Wang Yi and Sullivan is an important consensus reached by the heads of state of China and the United States. In the new round of meetings, Wang Yi will express China's position on China US relations, Taiwan issues, and exchange views with the United States on international and regional issues of common concern. The White House issued a statement on the 25th local time, stating that Sullivan will hold a meeting with Wang Yi in Bangkok from the 26th to the 27th. This meeting will continue the commitment made by the US and China heads of state in November last year to maintain strategic communication and responsibly manage bilateral relations.

According to Agence France Presse, this is the first round of meeting between Wang Yi and Sullivan after the US dollar meeting in San Francisco in mid November last year promised to deepen dialogue between these two world's largest economies. The report mentioned that as the US and China seek to reach a more stable bilateral relationship in 2024, Wang Yi stated in his speech earlier this month that the US China relationship encountered serious difficulties at the beginning of 2023. After arduous efforts, the two sides have reconstructed communication and dialogue, and the bilateral relationship has achieved a stabilization. The Russian satellite news agency quoted experts as saying that the new round of meetings between China and the United States reflects the continuation of the mechanism of close, frequent, and multi-level exchanges between the two countries since the resumption of high-level dialogue in June 2023. It is also the continuation of the positive trend of high-level dialogue between the two countries in the face of the current complex and severe bilateral relations and international challenges.

As soon as the two elections in Taiwan in 2024 were over, the United States stepped forward to congratulate them.  
Professor Li Haidong from the School of Foreign Affairs told Global Times on the 26th that the trend of US Taiwan collusion and interaction has not diminished after the Taiwan leadership election: a bipartisan delegation from the US Congress visited Taiwan on the 24th and met with leaders of the Democratic Progressive Party authorities; On the same day, the USS Finn destroyer sailed through the Taiwan Strait.   The focus of the meeting is still on the qualitative analysis of China US relations. So far, the United States has not given up defining the main theme of China US relations through competition, which may lead to conflicts between the two sides. Although both China and the United States have resumed contact at all levels, it appears that the US has not shown enough sincerity so far. "We hope that US officials have a correct statement before the US election, stating that if the qualitative issues are not resolved properly, it will be difficult to put the big plate of China US cooperation on the table."
"The United States is in big trouble"
It is worth noting that after the release of the relevant meeting news between China and the United States, the US side will engage in intensive discussions and "release the wind". The Wall Street Journal of the United States reported, citing US officials, that the topics discussed with China during Sullivan's trip include the situation of "Iranian supported Yemeni Hussein militants" attacking Red Sea merchant ships. The US hopes that Beijing can exert influence on Tehran to prevent the Hussein militants. The report mentioned that John Kirby, the strategic communication coordinator of the White House National Security Council, demonstrated the urgent expectations of the US side for this meeting in his speech at the press conference. He claimed that "China has influence over Iran. They have the ability to engage in dialogue with Iranian leaders that we cannot engage in.". Reuters reported on the 26th, citing "sources", that recent meetings in Beijing and Tehran have discussed issues related to the Red Sea situation and China Iran trade. "China hopes that Iran will restrain the attacks of the Hussain armed forces in the Red Sea.".
On the 26th, Wang Wenbin stated at a regular press conference that China's position on the Red Sea situation is clear. We are deeply concerned about the recent sharp rise in the Red Sea situation. The Red Sea is an important international trade channel for goods and energy. China has made active efforts to alleviate the tense situation in the Red Sea from the beginning, calling for an end to the harassment of civilian ships and urging relevant parties to avoid adding fuel to the tense situation in the Red Sea, and to jointly maintain the safety of navigation channels in the Red Sea area in accordance with the law.
Professor Ding Long from the Institute of Middle East Studies at Shanghai Foreign Studies University told Global Times on the 26th that the United States now wants to negotiate the Red Sea crisis with China, mainly because the United States has encountered major difficulties and is in a strategic dilemma. The current military strike by the United States against the Houser armed forces is counterproductive, and they want to resolve the Red Sea crisis. Without the coordination of major powers, the situation may worsen. This is why the United States is urgently seeking China to discuss the Red Sea crisis. A basic judgment of the United States, also known as the "logic line" or "pressure transmission chain," is that "China can provide assistance to Iran, and Iran can put pressure on the Hussai armed forces to persuade them to stop attacking.". But the logic of the US side is actually untenable, as it aims to shift the responsibility for the regional crisis onto China as much as possible. Lv Xiang stated that China is not the party that triggers conflicts, and the unobstructed flow of the Red Sea shipping artery is in the interests of China and the world. China will certainly seek peace in the Red Sea within its capabilities, but this has nothing to do with the so-called "call" from the United States.
"The United States turns the Red Sea into a battlefield"
Since the outbreak of a new round of Palestinian Israeli conflict in October last year, the Yemeni Houthi armed forces have repeatedly attacked targets in the Red Sea using drones and missiles. Since January 12th this year, the United States and the United Kingdom have launched consecutive airstrikes on armed targets in Yemen, causing multiple deaths and injuries. Some countries condemn the actions of the United States and Britain, believing that they are a violation of Yemen's sovereignty and will exacerbate regional tensions.
On the 25th, the US Treasury Department issued a statement announcing that the United States and the UK will take joint action to impose sanctions on four key officials of the Hussein armed forces. On the same day, Yemen's armed leader Abdul Malik Hussein condemned the United States for threatening international shipping, turning the Red Sea into a battlefield, and preventing efforts to provide food and medicine to the residents of the Gaza Strip. He stated that the actions of the United States will come at a huge economic cost and will lead to the escalation of conflicts. No matter how the United States and Britain escalate their actions, it will not affect the determination and stance of the Houser armed forces.
The Washington Post quoted several US government officials as saying that the actions taken by the United States against the Houser militants in the Red Sea were due to ideological reasons, not economic or other reasons. These officials stated that Biden believes that the United States must take action as an "irreplaceable country" in the world, as it possesses "strong military power and the ability to organize different countries to support the same cause.". Officials also stated that the US government does not expect the crackdown on the Hussein militants to last long, as the US has not set a goal of completely destroying the Hussein militants or launching a full-scale war in Yemen.
The Chinese side has repeatedly stated that the tense situation in the Red Sea is a prominent manifestation of the spillover of the Gaza conflict, and the top priority is to quickly quell the Gaza conflict and prevent it from further expanding or even spiraling out of control. Some analysts believe that compared to the United States now treating these two issues independently, without mentioning the relationship between the Red Sea crisis and the Palestinian Israeli conflict, China's stance is the only way to address both symptoms and root causes.
[Global Times correspondent Feng Yaren in the United States, Global Times reporter Li Meng, Wang Qi, Global Times correspondent Zhen Xiang, Liu Yupeng]