China olive branch leads to secretive talks with Mike Pompeo in Hawaii

The top two diplomats from China and the US are set to meet in Hawaii to seek common ground after months of rising tensions.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is in Hawaii for talks with his Chinese counterpart. Picture: AFP

The top two diplomats from China and the US are set to hold a secretive rendezvous in Hawaii on Thursday (AEST) to seek common ground after months of rising tensions.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo travelled to the islands on Wednesday for an expected meeting with Yang Jiechi.

It is believed the meeting was initiated by Beijing, leaving US State Department officials unsure of its main purpose amid an array of pressing issues — from trade to the coronavirus, Hong Kong and military manoeuvres in the Pacific by both countries. It comes after Carrie Lam, Hong Kong’s Beijing-backed Chief Executive, criticised opponents of strict new security legislation as enemies of the Hong Kong people.

Chinese state media has vilified Mr Pompeo as the “enemy of humankind” over his criticisms of Beijing’s response to the COVID-19 outbreak. Mr Pompeo infuriated Beijing by insisting there was “enormous evidence” that the coronavirus originated in a laboratory in the Chinese city of Wuhan.

There were signs of an olive branch from Beijing at the weekend when the People’s Daily, the ruling Communist Party’s newspaper, declared that the friendship between the people of China and the US could not be thwarted by any political manipulation.

The Times