US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is expected to meet with his Chinese counterpart, Admiral Dong Jun, at a major defense conference in Singapore next week, the Pentagon announced Friday.
It will be the first meeting between the two defense leaders following a phone call in April.
It comes as the US and China have gradually worked to warm relations, which had been largely frozen since a controversial visit to Taiwan by former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in 2022 resulted in China temporarily stopping most military-to-military communications.
The announcement came shortly before the Pentagon said Austin would undergo a medical procedure at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Friday evening and transfer power temporarily to his deputy.
Austin is dealing with bladder issues that arose in December following his treatment for prostate cancer.
Later Friday, the Pentagon said the procedure was successful and Austin had resumed duty and returned home.
“No changes in his official schedule are anticipated at this time, to include his participation in scheduled Memorial Day events,” Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said.
Austin and Dong, China’s minister of national defense, are expected to meet during the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore next week, an annual meeting of defense ministers and government officials from more than 50 countries.
The meeting also comes, however, as China has engaged in aggressive military drills around Taiwan, resulting in Taiwan scrambling jets and putting missile, naval and land units on alert Thursday.
