The top US military officer held a virtual meeting with his Chinese counterpart on Thursday, the Pentagon said, in the first such conversation in over a year amid hopes by US officials that it could lead to a broader restoration of ties between the two militaries.
The video meeting came after US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed last month to restore military-to-military relations that Beijing had severed following Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi’s August 2022 travel to Taiwan, which is a self-governing territory.
General Liu Zhenli of the People’s Liberation Army of China and US Air Force General Charles Q. Brown, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, discussed “several global and regional security issues,” according to Brown’s office.
Liu is the head of the Central Military Commission’s (CMC) Joint Staff Department, which is the military organization in charge of organizing and carrying out China’s combat operations.
Pentagon officials say communication between the two militaries is crucial to preventing a miscalculation from spiraling into conflict.
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“Gen. Brown discussed the importance of working together to responsibly manage competition, avoid miscalculations, and maintain open and direct lines of communication,” Brown’s office said.
“Gen. Brown reiterated the importance of the People’s Liberation Army engaging in substantive dialogue to reduce the likelihood of misunderstandings.”
Brown said last month he had sent an introductory letter to Liu saying he was open to meeting.
Liu said the key for US and China to develop a healthy, stable, and sustainable military-to-military relationship is for the US to have a “correct understanding of China”, according to a Chinese defense ministry statement late Thursday.
US officials have cautioned that even with some restoration of military communications, forging a truly functional dialogue between the two sides could take time.
Some analysts say China seeks ambiguity in defense relations to constrain what Beijing sees as US military provocations in the region.
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Beijing and Washington are at odds over a variety of issues, including South China Sea territorial claims and the survival of Taiwan’s democratic government. After the United States crashed an alleged Chinese surveillance balloon in February, diplomatic relations are still healing.
Liu stated that the Chinese armed forces will steadfastly protect state sovereignty and territorial integrity over the Taiwan issue, which China regards as a domestic matters.
Along with China’s territorial sovereignty, Liu also demanded that the US recognize China’s maritime rights and interests in the South China Sea.
“Be prudent in words and actions, and take concrete actions to safeguard regional peace and stability and the overall situation of China-US relations,” stressed the president.
Liu has become the front-runner to succeed General Li Shangfu, China’s minister of national defense, who was fired last month. According to a September Reuters story, Li was the subject of an inquiry into possible wrongdoing involving the development and purchase of technology.
In Tokyo last month, Brown acknowledged corruption in the Chinese military when asked about Li’s removal, and broader issues in the PLA, but also noted: “alignment with Xi Jinping and his thinking as he continues to consolidate power”.
Li was sanctioned by the US in 2018 for an arms deal he secured with Russia in an earlier role. China had demanded that the sanctions – which included a visa ban and prohibitions on conducting US. financial transactions – be lifted.