US National Security Adviser Holds Rare Meeting With Senior Military Official in China

The last time a U.S. national security adviser met their counterpart in China was in 2016, when Susan Rice held the role in the Obama administration.

US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan (2nd-L) attends a meeting with Vice chairman of the CPC Central Military Commission Zhang Youxia (2nd-R) at the Bayi building in Beijing on Aug. 29, 2024. Ng Han Guan/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan on Thursday met with a senior Chinese military official in a bid to manage tensions brewing between China and U.S. treaty allies in the region.

Sullivan met with General Zhang Youxia, vice chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), which is China’s top military body helmed by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leader Xi Jinping. According to a readout of the meeting from the White House, Sullivan emphasized that both nations “have a responsibility to prevent competition from veering into conflict or confrontation.”