The top U.S. 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 U.S. officials that it could lead to a broader restoration of ties between the two militaries.
U.S. Air Force General Charles Q. Brown, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and General Liu Zhenli of China’s People’s Liberation Army touched on “some global and regional security issues,” Brown’s office said.
Liu is the chief of the Joint Staff Department of the Central Military Commission (CMC), the military body responsible for China’s combat operations and planning.
Pentagon officials say communication between the two militaries is crucial to preventing a miscalculation from spiraling into conflict.
U.S. officials have cautioned that even with some restoration of military communications, forging truly functional dialogue between the two sides could take time.
Liu has emerged as the top contender to replace China’s national defence minister, General Li Shangfu, who was dismissed from his position last month. Reuters reported in September that Li was under investigation over suspected corruption related to equipment procurement and development.
Li was sanctioned by the U.S. 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 U.S. financial transactions – be lifted.
Liu, 59, is not under Western sanctions.
