WASHINGTON - The Biden administration’s top security adviser met China’s top diplomat this week and pledged to keep lines of communication open, the White House said on Thursday, in one of the countries’ first high-level meetings since a dispute over an alleged Chinese spy balloon dented relations in February.

National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and Chinese top diplomat Wang Yi met in Vienna on Wednesday and Thursday, and discussed Russia’s war on Ukraine, among other issues, the White House said in a statement.

“The two sides had candid, substantive, and constructive discussions on key issues in the US-China bilateral relationship, global and regional security issues, Russia’s war against Ukraine, and cross-Strait issues, among other topics,” it said, calling the meeting “part of ongoing efforts to maintain open lines of communication and responsibly manage competition”.

United States-China ties have been on a downward slide over issues ranging from accusations of Chinese spying and human rights abuses, to efforts by the US to build military alliances to curb China’s ambitions towards Taiwan and in the Pacific.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken cancelled a planned trip to Beijing in February after the US shot down a Chinese balloon that flew over sensitive military sites, plunging the rivals into a diplomatic crisis.

Mr Blinken’s trip had been intended to help repair relations after an earlier rupture over then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan, the self-governed island that China considers its own.

The White House has expressed its eagerness to reschedule Mr Blinken’s visit and arrange other senior-level meetings as part of efforts to keep relations from veering towards conflict.

“The two sides agreed to maintain this important strategic channel of communication to advance these objectives,” the White House said, adding that the talks sought to build on US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping’s meeting in Indonesia in November. REUTERS