China, US talks in Beijing strike encouraging note but risks remain

News Snapshot:

Meetings between top US and Chinese officials in China this week struck an encouraging note, with both sides promising to keep communication lines open, even as Beijing remained wary of additional “provocative” US steps and open conflicts remain a potential. Meetings between Daniel Kritenbrink, assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, and Chinese officials including Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu were described as open and fruitful in statements from Washington and Beijing. Just before Kritenbrink arrived in Beijing on Sunday, the US military reported an “unsafe interaction” on Saturday in the Taiwan Strait when a Chinese vessel...