US, China to create working groups to mull contentious issues

The US and China are opening new lines of communication to tackle contentious issues, in one of the first signs of progress towards stabilizing relations since secretary of state Antony Blinken visited Beijing in June, Report informs referring to the Financial Times.

According to three people familiar with the situation, Washington and Beijing will create two working groups to focus on Asia-Pacific regional issues and maritime issues, and a possible third group to focus on broader areas.

The move comes amid tension between the powers over issues from China’s assertive activity around Taiwan and refusal to condemn Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, to Beijing’s concern about US alliances in the Indo-Pacific and tough export controls.

US and Chinese officials are expected to flesh out the details in the coming months.

The move is the first tangible progress towards the goal Biden and China’s president Xi Jinping agreed in Bali in November to set a “floor” under the relationship to stop competition from “veering into conflict”.

The fourth person said the two sides were considering a series of meetings to tackle tough issues with clear goals, but that the US was not recreating the formal “dialogues” that existed in former administrations, which critics now say were too focused on process instead of outcomes.