Disputes over human rights, Taiwan, trade and China’s military expansion have strained relations between Washington and Beijing. Biden’s promise last month to intervene militarily in the event of China invading self-governing Taiwan has only exacerbated the situation. Biden is also considering whether to lift some tariffs on China imposed by former President Donald Trump in a bid to tame inflation in the United States. After Sullivan’s meeting with Yang Jiechi, a senior US government official said he expected to “see further possible meetings in the coming months”, although they said nothing was currently planned between Biden and Xi. Sullivan’s meeting with Young came after a telephone conversation last month before Biden’s first visit to Asia. The White House has made a number of commitments in recent weeks to demonstrate its commitment to Asia-Pacific, including hosting Southeast Asian leaders at the White House. These steps were seen as an attempt to counter China’s influence in the region, which has been the main driver of Biden’s focus on Asia. “Mr. Sullivan stressed the importance of maintaining open lines of communication to manage competition between our two countries,” the White House said in a reading of Monday’s meeting. Previous meetings between Sullivan and Young have been preceded by telephone calls between Biden and Xi, who have not met in person since Biden took office. They last spoke in March for 110 minutes, when Biden tried to prevent Xi from providing support to Russia in its war in Ukraine. The issue was discussed in Luxembourg on Monday, along with recent provocations from North Korea and the detention of Americans in China. Sullivan said Americans subject to travel bans were a “personal priority” for Biden and himself. He also expressed concern about China’s recent veto in a resolution to the UN Security Council on North Korea. He stressed “the importance of maintaining open lines of communication at all levels”. The US goal in China’s involvement is “to ensure that each side understands the other’s intentions, understands the priorities,” the official said. “This is crucial to avoiding possible miscommunication, misinterpretation, risk reduction. All of these things I think are critical to, you know, managing the relationship in a healthy and responsible way.”