A senior Pentagon official held talks with the Chinese military for the first time since President Joe Biden assumed office. The dialogues focused on managing risk between the US and China, a US official told Reuters on Friday.
“(They) utilized the US-PRC Defense Telephone Link to conduct a secure video conference. Both sides agreed on the importance of maintaining open channels of communication between the two militaries,” the US official said.
Officials said that US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has yet to hold dialogues with his Chinese counterpart, in part because there was a debate about which Chinese official was Austin’s counterpart.
Vice President Kamala Harris said on Thursday that the United States welcomes competition and does not seek dispute with Beijing, but will speak up on matters such as maritime issues in the South China Sea.
Michael Chase, deputy assistant secretary of defense for China, spoke last week with Chinese Major General Huang Xueping, deputy director for the People’s Liberation Army Office for International Military Cooperation.
