Despite trade tension, China and US keep lines open on ‘issues of common concern’

China and the US have kept their contact channels active amid their escalating trade war, with American financial diplomats visiting a Chinese government-affiliated think tank in Beijing this week.

Oliver Melton, the US Treasury Department’s outgoing finance attache in China, and his successor Tyler Makepeace visited the Institute of World Economics and Politics (IWEP) at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) on Wednesday.

They had “in-depth exchanges on topics including China’s macroeconomy and China-US trade relations” with Zhang Bin and Xu Qiyuan, two of the institute’s deputy directors, the organisation said on Wednesday without giving details about the discussion.

The meeting adds to signs that Washington and Beijing have been working to keep the lines of communication open since Donald Trump won the US presidential election in November, although tensions between the two powers remain high over a wide spectrum of issues, from tariffs and tech rivalry to Taiwan and the South China Sea.

CASS, while operating as a ministry-level body directly under the State Council of China, the country’s cabinet, is widely viewed as part of the Chinese central apparatus. It not only conducts think tank research but also gives policy advice and produces internal reports to support government decision-making.

US Treasury financial attaches serve as critical liaisons between Washington and the economic systems of the countries in which they are posted. In addition to their intelligence gathering role, the attaches provide logistical support for visits by department officials, American government financial regulators and others, including putting them in contact with relevant host country counterparts.

As another notable example of the two nations trying to stay connected, Chinese vice foreign minister Ma Zhaoxu met the deputy chief of mission at the US embassy in Beijing, Sarah Beran, on January 16 for an “in-depth exchange of views on current China-US relations and issues of common concern”.

That meeting was four days ahead of Trump’s inauguration and just one day before his phone call with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

  

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