Beijing (TDI): After a phone call between President Trump and China’s Xi Jinping on Friday, a team of members of US House of Representatives met Chinese Premier Li Qiang at the Great Hall of the People, on Sunday.
The phone call, about which not much is known, was the first direct interaction between the two presidents in three months. Some reports suggest they talked about TikTok, as is evident from a White House statement that came out next day, but a Chinese media report denied any specific agreement or deal regarding the app’s operations in the US.
The White House statement spoke of a deal where the algorithm of the app is controlled by US and majority of board members, six out of seven, will be US citizens. China did not publicly announce any such deal yet.
The rare visit of the House members has been reported as an icebreaker and a push towards more military dialogue and defense talks. The team was led by Democratic US Representative Adam Smith.
Read More:Â US, China Hold Trade Talks in Madrid as TikTok Deadline Approaches
The last such House trip to China was made in 2019, after which coronavirus and subsequent rifts derailed such visits. The visit, however, did not take place all at once. Members of the delegation were announced this month and it was pre-planned.
Coming at a time when Trump administration is prioritizing a TikTok deal, the visit may or may not influence it directly but as an icebreaker, it probably will create soft space between the two countries, in which a deal desirable for the US is more likely.
The greater tariff and trade terms are other matters that are still pending between China and the US, in addition to defense and security which have remained a persistent sphere of competition between the two.
Trump, while talking to reporters on Saturday, said that some American patriots are willing to buy TikTok but this again does not signal an agreement so far.
Established in December 2008, The Diplomatic Insight is Pakistan’s premier diplomacy and foreign affairs magazine, available in both digital and print formats.
