Defense chief welcomes resumption of military communications with China: Pentagon

By Diyar Guldogan

WASHINGTON - US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin welcomed the resumption of military-to-military communications with China, a Pentagon spokesperson said on Thursday.

"President (Joe) Biden and President Xi (Jinping) committed to the resumption of high level military-to-military communication," said Deputy Press Secretary Sabrina Singh at a news briefing.

"Additionally, the US and the PRC agreed to resuming telephone conversations between their theater commanders. Secretary Austin welcomes this announcement and will meet with his counterpart when that person is named," she added.

Her remarks came a day after Biden announced that Washington and Beijing are resuming military-to-military communications, which paves the way for "clear and open" communication between the defense establishments to avoid miscalculations by either side and prevent conflict.

"As Secretary Austin has said, maintaining open lines of communications between two militaries is essential to avoid misunderstandings and miscalculations that could lead to a crisis or conflict," Singh added.

After meeting with Xi for the first time in a year, Biden on Wednesday said he held "constructive and productive" talks with Xi in San Francisco, California on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Conference summit.

Biden also announced that the US and China will restart cooperation against the illegal drug trade, and get their experts together to discuss the risks of artificial intelligence.