Trade will not play a central role when the Washington delegation meets with their China counterparts in Alaska next week, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters on March 12. Sullivan and Secretary of State Antony Blinken will join talks with China’s foreign minister Wang Yi and senior foreign policy diplomat Yang Jiechi on March 18, marking the two countries’ first top-level meeting in person since President Joe Biden took office. Asked about trade sanctions on China, he said that he doesn’t expect “the phase one trade deal is going to be a major topic of conversation next week.” “This is our effort to communicate clearly to the Chinese government how the United States intends to proceed at a strategic level, what we believe our fundamental interests and values are, and what our concerns with their activities are,” Sullivan said in a press briefing at the White House. The United …