TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A new report has revealed a series of secret backchannel meetings held between top US and Chinese diplomats, with Taiwan as a central focus.

A Financial Times report on Monday (Aug. 26) disclosed several international, clandestine meetings between US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi (王毅). The “strategic channel” was established at a time when US-China relations had reached their lowest point, with “all the issues stacked against the backdrop of the most sensitive topic in US-China relations—Taiwan.”

According to the report, the backchannel played a major role in lowering the risk of miscalculation by both countries when stakes were “extremely high.” The first meeting between Sullivan and Wang occurred in May 2023 in Vienna, three months after the US shot down a Chinese “spy balloon” that had flown across North America.

However, the balloon incident was only the tip of the iceberg that escalated tensions. In Alaska in March 2021, the first summit between Biden officials, led by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and Chinese diplomats, under former foreign minister Yang Jiechi (楊潔篪), ended in clashes.

Personalities were blamed as a reason the exchanges failed, and the Chinese side reportedly preferred communicating with Sullivan. The US also favored Wang, who “was focused on ensuring Sullivan understood China’s perspective rather than scoring points,” the report stated.

Some analysts were concerned that the US and China were moving towards a conflict involving Taiwan, especially after tensions flared in August 2022 when former US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited the country.

Vienna was reportedly chosen as the meeting location because it was midway between Beijing and Washington, providing a place where the two diplomats could avoid attention while working to “stabilize the most important bilateral relationship in the world.”

Throughout the three backchannel meetings in Vienna, Malta, and Bangkok, the Chinese side consistently emphasized that Taiwan was the top issue, a “red line that should never be crossed.” Wang stressed that Taiwan independence was the biggest challenge to US-China relations and a threat to cross-strait peace.

Beijing was also angered by the US sending weapons to Taiwan and training its military, viewing these actions as “interference in its domestic affairs” and provocation toward a conflict over Taiwan. However, the backchannel allowed Wang and Sullivan to discuss Taiwan “candidly,” with China understanding that Washington has greater influence over Taipei. Sullivan clarified that the US was not trying to incite a conflict over Taiwan.

In addition to Taiwan, Wang objected to US export controls on technology and semiconductors, which Beijing accuses the US of imposing to contain its economy. Meanwhile, Sullivan accused China of providing support for Russia’s attack on Ukraine.

Sullivan has argued that while the US and China are in competition, cooperation in certain areas of mutual concern is still possible. China reportedly countered that cooperation cannot happen “while simultaneously undercutting China’s interests.”

Although the backchannel did not resolve fundamental disagreements, Sullivan told the Financial Times that it “played an instrumental role in helping to shift the dynamic in US-China relations.” The Chinese side similarly found the backchannel helpful, enabling “important discussions about Taiwan.”

This month, Sullivan and Wang are reportedly set to meet in Beijing for their fourth meeting.