US meanwhile lifts Xinjiang-related sanctions on lab affiliated with Chinese police. It follows agreement between Beijing and Washington to work together on narcotics control.
For all the positivity this week, analysts were skeptical about whether the ‘San Francisco Vision’ would hold up, or if it will fall by the wayside as quickly as the ‘Bali Consensus’
Observers say renewed communication channels between PLA and US military cannot fix fundamental disagreements on issues such as military conduct in South China Sea.
"Right now, of course, the secretary of defense does not have a counterpart; there is no [Chinese] minister of defense. We're going to have to probably wait on that one," NSC official Sarah Beran said.