U.S. Delegation to Visit China, Japan, and South Korea

Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Kritenbrink and Laura Rosenberger, senior director of the National Security Council on China and Taiwan, will visit China, South Korea and Japan Dec. 11-14, according to a State Department statement.

The State Department statement followed comments by a senior White House official that China has expressed its intention to stabilize relations with the United States in the short term as it faces domestic economic problems and resistance to its policies in Asia.

Public discontent with overly strict quarantine measures against another wave of COVID-19 erupted into mass protests in China in November, the largest manifestation of public discontent since Xi Jinping came to power in 2012. The quarantine also contributed to the economic slowdown.

White House Indo-Pacific Coordinator Kurt Campbell stressed on Dec. 8 that these Beijing is interested in a more predictable relationship with Washington in the “short term,” particularly because it has turned many Pacific neighbors against itself. Campbell’s speech followed the announcement of U.S. plans to increase its rotational military presence in Australia.

The new delegation, according to the State Department, will help “continue to responsibly manage the competition between the two countries and outline potential areas for cooperation.”