Stable US-Chinese relations a 'genuine possibility', White House official says

National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan spoke at Aspen Security Forum on Friday

National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan spoke on US-China relations and Washington's engagement with Ukraine at the Aspen Security Forum. EPA

A top White House official on Friday said there was a “genuine possibility” for stable US-China relations, despite inherent competition and continuing tension between the two powers.

White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told the Aspen Security Forum that continuing diplomacy could address the rivalry between the two nations.

“There is a genuine possibility for a stable relationship, even though that relationship is inherently competitive, and will involve us doing things that Beijing doesn't like and will involve Beijing doing things that we don't like,” Mr Sullivan said.

“But diplomacy is all about being able to manage that set of structural factors and that is what we are engaged in right now.”

US-China relations have been fraught under President Joe Biden after Washington shot down an alleged Chinese spy balloon that was traversing North America earlier this year.

Other issues, such as American officials visiting Taiwan and US export bans on advanced technologies, have also put a dent in relations between the world's two largest economies.

In the past month, in an attempt to repair ties, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and climate envoy John Kerry have all travelled to China and met top officials.

During his address, Mr Sullivan also addressed speculation as to the whereabouts of China’s Foreign Minister Qin Gang, who has not appeared in public since June 25.

“We don't know, we genuinely don't know,” he said.

On Ukraine, Mr Sullivan said Wagner Group mercenary fighters have left the country and gone to Belarus.

“Wagner is not fighting in Ukraine,” he said.

“Elements of Wagner have in fact moved to Belarus. Other elements are looking probably to go further afield.”

On Wednesday, the private army's chief Yevgeny Prigozhin was seen in a video welcoming fighters to Belarus and telling them they should prepare to go to Africa.

Mr Sullivan also defended the Biden administration's decision to send cluster munitions to Ukraine. The bombs, whose use has been banned by dozens of countries, provide “a better capacity to defend an onslaught from the Russians”, he said.

“We will give Ukraine what it needs, and at this time, it was a choice between cluster munitions or no shells at all, bridging a production gap in the quantity of shells Ukraine needs to defend itself.”

Cluster munitions explode above the ground and then release dozens or hundreds of smaller “bomblets” that scatter across a wide area.

The move was contentious because cluster munitions can kill and maim for decades after a conflict has ended.