Biden Adviser Sullivan and China’s Yang Discuss Regional Security

White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan waits on the tarmac for US President Joe Biden to deplane after arriving aboard Air Force One at Portsmouth International Airport in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, US April 19, 2022. Picture taken April 19, 2022. (Reuters)
White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan waits on the tarmac for US President Joe Biden to deplane after arriving aboard Air Force One at Portsmouth International Airport in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, US April 19, 2022. Picture taken April 19, 2022. (Reuters)
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Biden Adviser Sullivan and China’s Yang Discuss Regional Security

White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan waits on the tarmac for US President Joe Biden to deplane after arriving aboard Air Force One at Portsmouth International Airport in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, US April 19, 2022. Picture taken April 19, 2022. (Reuters)
White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan waits on the tarmac for US President Joe Biden to deplane after arriving aboard Air Force One at Portsmouth International Airport in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, US April 19, 2022. Picture taken April 19, 2022. (Reuters)

President Joe Biden's national security adviser Jake Sullivan spoke by phone on Wednesday with China's top diplomat Yang Jiechi, a call focused on regional security issues and nonproliferation, the White House said.

Biden will visit Asia from May 20 to 24, including South Korea and Japan, a trip aimed at bolstering ties with allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific region in the face of growing US competition with Beijing.

Sullivan and Yang "also discussed Russia's war against Ukraine and specific issues in US-China relations," the White House said in a short statement, without giving further details.

The two last met in Rome in March, ahead of Biden's call that month with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, during which the U.S. president warned Xi of consequences should Beijing offer material support for Moscow's war in Ukraine.

China, which weeks before the Russian invasion announced a "no-limits" partnership with Moscow, has refused to condemn Russian President Vladimir Putin's actions and has criticized sweeping Western sanctions on Russia.

But after nearly three months of the war, senior US officials say they have not detected overt Chinese military and economic support for Russia, a welcome development in the tense US-China relationship.

North Korea appears to be preparing to test an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) ahead Biden's trip to Asia, which could overshadow his administration's broader focus on China and trade, and underscore the lack of progress in denuclearization talks.

The United States has pushed for more United Nations sanctions on North Korea, but China and Russia have signaled opposition, arguing sanctions should be eased to jumpstart talks and provide humanitarian relief to the impoverished North.



US Has ‘No Plans’ to Recognize Palestinian State, Vance Says Before Talks with UK Foreign Secretary

Vice President JD Vance speaks during a meeting with Britain's Foreign Secretary David Lammy at Chevening House in Kent, England, Friday, Aug. 8, 2025. (AP)
Vice President JD Vance speaks during a meeting with Britain's Foreign Secretary David Lammy at Chevening House in Kent, England, Friday, Aug. 8, 2025. (AP)
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US Has ‘No Plans’ to Recognize Palestinian State, Vance Says Before Talks with UK Foreign Secretary

Vice President JD Vance speaks during a meeting with Britain's Foreign Secretary David Lammy at Chevening House in Kent, England, Friday, Aug. 8, 2025. (AP)
Vice President JD Vance speaks during a meeting with Britain's Foreign Secretary David Lammy at Chevening House in Kent, England, Friday, Aug. 8, 2025. (AP)

US Vice President JD Vance met with UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy on Friday at a stately home south of London, with the two leaders saying the agenda includes global economics and the Israel-Hamas war and Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Taking questions from reporters before their talks, Vance addressed the UK decision to recognize a Palestinian state in September unless Israel agrees to a ceasefire in Gaza, saying he wasn’t sure what such recognition would even mean, “given the lack of a functional government there.”

Asked whether Trump had been given a heads up on Israel’s announced intent to occupy Gaza City, Vance said he wouldn't go into such conversations.

“If it was easy to bring peace to that region of the world, it would have been done already,” he said.

The meeting comes amid debates between Washington and London about the best way to end the wars between Russia and Ukraine, as well as Israel and Hamas. It’s also taking place as the United Kingdom tries to come to favorable terms for steel and aluminum exports to the US, and the two sides work out details of a broader trade deal announced at the end of June.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that he hoped to meet with US President Donald Trump next week, comments that came a day before Trump’s deadline for Moscow to show progress in ending the nearly 3½-year war in Ukraine.

While Trump has focused on bilateral talks with Putin, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and other European leaders have stressed that Ukraine must be part of any negotiations on ending the war.

The US and Britain, which have historically close ties known as “the special relationship,” have also disagreed on their approach to ending the war in Gaza.

The meeting took place at Chevening, an almost 400-year-old mansion surrounded by 3,000 acres (about 1,200 hectares) of gardens that serves as the foreign secretary’s official country residence.

About two dozen protesters were spotted on the road before the turnoff to the stately home. A few were wearing keffiyeh scarves and another held up a round sign that had a meme making fun of Vance printed on it.