A TOP White House official arrived in China on Tuesday for talks on a relationship that has been severely tested during President Joe Biden’s term in office.

National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan has been Mr Biden’s point person for often unannounced talks with the Chinese to try to manage the growing differences between Washington and Beijing.

Yang Tao, the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s chief for the North America and Oceania department, as well as the United States ambassador to China, Nicholas Burns, met Mr Sullivan on his arrival.

The visit is part of efforts by both sides to try to maintain communication in a relationship that broke down for the better part of a year in 2022-23.

No major announcements are expected, though the meetings could lay the groundwork for a possible final summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping before President Biden steps down in January.

Already frosty relations went into a deep freeze after then-speaker of the house Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan in August 2022. 

China’s Foreign Ministry said this week that relations with the US remain at “a critical juncture.”

It noted that the two sides are talking on climate and other issues, but accused the US of continuing to take measures, including economic sanctions, that are aimed at constraining and suppressing China.