A senior Pentagon official held talks with the Chinese military for the first time since US President Joe Biden took office in January to focus on risk management between the two countries, a US official told Reuters on Friday.
The United States has placed the fight against China at the center of its national security policy for years, and Biden’s administration has called the rivalry with Beijing the “greatest geopolitical test” of this century.
Relations between China and the United States have grown strained as the world’s two largest economies collide on everything from Taiwan and China’s human rights record to its military activities in the South China Sea.
Despite the tension and heated rhetoric, US military officials have long sought open lines of communication with their Chinese counterparts in order to mitigate potential flares or deal with accidents.
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Michael Chase, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for China, spoke to China Major General Huang Xueping, deputy director of the People’s Liberation Army International Military Cooperation Office last week.
“(You) used the US PRC defense phone line today to conduct a secure video conference,” the US official said on condition of anonymity.
Chase focused on “managing crises and risks,” added the official.
Officials said US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has not spoken to his Chinese counterpart, in part because there has been a debate about which Chinese official is Austin’s counterpart.
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Vice President Kamala Harris said Thursday that the United States welcomes the competition and will not seek a conflict with Beijing, but will speak out on issues such as maritime disputes in the South China Sea.
China, Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Taiwan lay claim to parts of the South China Sea, which is criss-crossed by vital shipping lanes and contains gas fields and rich fishing grounds.
Biden has tightened sanctions against China for alleged human rights abuses in Xinjiang and Hong Kong.
In contrast to his predecessor as President, Donald Trump, Biden has by and large tried to win allies and partners in order to help against China’s economic and foreign policy, which is what is said to be the White House.
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