Exclusive: The Pentagon holds talks with the Chinese military for the first time under Biden

WASHINGTON, Aug. 27 (Reuters) – A senior Pentagon official has held talks with the Chinese military for the first time since President Joe Biden took office in January to focus on risk management between the two countries, a U.S. 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 the Biden administration has described rivalry with Beijing as “the biggest geopolitical test” of this century.

Relations between China and the United States have become increasingly strained, with the world’s two largest economies facing everything from Taiwan’s human rights record to its military activity at sea. of South China.

Despite tensions and heated rhetoric, U.S. military officials have long tried to have open lines of communication with their Chinese counterparts so they can mitigate possible outbreaks or deal with any accidents.

Michael Chase, China’s deputy deputy secretary of defense, spoke last week with Chinese Major General Huang Xueping, deputy director of the Office of International Military Cooperation of the People’s Liberation Army.

“(They) have today used the US-PRC defense telephone link to conduct a secure video conference,” the U.S. official said in anonymous statements.

Chase focused on “managing the crisis and risk,” the official added.

Officials said U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has not yet spoken to his Chinese counterpart, in part because it was debated which Chinese official was Austin’s counterpart.

Vice President Kamala Harris said Thursday that the United States is celebrating competition and not looking for conflicts with Beijing, but will talk about issues such as maritime disputes in the South China Sea.

China, Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Taiwan claim parts of the South China Sea, which is crossed by vital shipping lanes and contains gas fields and rich fishing areas.

Biden has increased sanctions against China for alleged human rights abuses in Xinjiang and Hong Kong.

In a shift from his predecessor as president, Donald Trump, Biden has tried to rally allies and partners to help counter what the White House says is China’s increasingly coercive economic and foreign policy.

Ali Ideas Reports; Edited by Sandra Maler and Daniel Wallis

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