Top White House official in Beijing as China faces off against US allies

U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan arrived in Beijing Tuesday to meet top diplomat Wang Yi for tense talks, as China found itself embroiled in fresh security rows with key American allies Japan and the Philippines.

On Monday, U.S. treaty ally Japan scrambled fighters after a Chinese military aircraft's incursion into its airspace, which Tokyo called a "serious violation" of its sovereignty.

The Philippine defense chief on Tuesday accused Beijing of being the "biggest disruptor" of peace in Southeast Asia following a week of confrontations between the two countries' ships near a flashpoint disputed shoal in the South China Sea.

Sullivan's plane landed at Beijing's Capital Airport just before 2:00 p.m. local time (0600 GMT), with the official greeted on the tarmac by U.S. Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns and Chinese foreign ministry official Yang Tao.

He then headed to a hotel on the outskirts of Beijing.

Ahead of his trip—the first by a U.S. national security advisor to China since 2016—an American official said he would discuss the South China Sea with counterparts in Beijing, including Foreign Minister Wang.

She did not indicate whether the United States expected any breakthroughs on the trip.

"We are committed to making the investments, strengthening our alliances, and taking the common steps on tech and national security that we need to take," the official said, referring to sweeping restrictions on U.S. technology transfers to China imposed under President Joe Biden.

"We are committed to managing this competition responsibly... and preventing it from veering into conflict," she added, speaking on condition of anonymity.

She said the U.S. would press China on its mounting "military,...