Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said top diplomat Yang Jiechi, who outranks the foreign minister, had met with Trump advisers, including his pick for national security adviser, retired Army Lieutenant General Michael Flynn, in recent days. "Both sides exchanged views on China-U.S. ties and important issues both are concerned with," Geng said, without elaborating.
However this meeting speaks much for itself marking that China has started to build its relations with the new Trump administration, journalist Mikhail Korostikov wrote for Sputnik China.
Little is known about the place and the time of this meeting. Allegedly it was held during transit in New York on Yang’s way to Latin America. It appears that the meeting was the first high-level contact between members of Trump’s administration and Chinese officials. Previously, the General Secretary of the Communist Party of China Xi Jinping congratulated Donald Trump on the phone after his surprise victory at presidential elections.
Then Xi stressed that in 37 years since China and the United States established diplomatic relations, bilateral ties have been continuously growing and moving forward, which has brought about substantial benefits to the peoples of the two countries. Facts have shown that cooperation is the only correct choice for the two countries in dealing with their relations, Xi also said.
The very fact that meeting was conducted not by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, but by Yang Jiechi, reflects the nature and the complexity of the problems which the countries are facing after Trump’s election. State Councilor Yang Jiechi has a higher status than the Foreign Minister and often serves as the personal representative of Xi Jinping in the international arena. In addition, Yang is well familiar with the issues of the Sino-US relations and speaks perfect in English as he had spent a few years in the United States as China's ambassador in 2000-2004.
It is notable that the meeting was held before the president-elect made his statement rejecting the “one China” policy. It was reported on Monday, that Trump said he will not be bound by the “one China” policy regarding relations with Taiwan. The president-elect also reiterated his recurrent criticism of China's alleged currency manipulation, as well as its activities in the disputed South China Sea and its passive stance on the North Korean nuclear threat. Chinese officials answered with a firm warning to Washington against jeopardizing bilateral relations between the countries, saying that maintenance of the One China Policy is critical in order to avoid deterioration of US-Chinese relations in the future.
“During the meeting with the representatives of Trump’s administration Yang Jiechi mostly probed the stance of the future US President’s advisors and tried to understand if Washington is really set to confront its largest trading partner,” Mikhail Korostikov writes.
It should be noticed that previously, Trump’s advisors often disagreed with him on China’s issues and demonstrated a more moderate attitude towards Beijing. For example, after Donald Trump’s phone call with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, Vice President-elect Mike Pence said that the call was “nothing more than taking a courtesy” and has nothing to do with the future US administration’s official position on Taiwan issue.
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