Top US, China military officers speak for first time in a year

WASHINGTON

Top U.S. military officer General Charles "CQ" Brown spoke with China's General Liu Zhenli on Thursday, a spokesman said, after a more than year-long halt to high-level defense talks between the two countries.

China stopped the talks in late 2022 to express its displeasure over a visit by then-U.S. House speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan, but leaders of the two countries agreed to resume them when they met last month.

Brown — the chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff — "discussed the importance of working together to responsibly manage competition, avoid miscalculations, and maintain open and direct lines of communication," spokesman Captain Jereal Dorsey said in a statement.

He "reiterated the importance of the People's Liberation Army engaging in substantive dialogue to reduce the likelihood of misunderstandings," the statement said, referring to China's military.

The two military leaders also "discussed a number of global and regional security issues" during their video teleconference.

Beijing reacted furiously to Pelosi's August 2022 visit to Taiwan, scrapping cooperation with Washington on key issues including climate change, anti-drug efforts and military talks, and launching its largest-ever war games around the island.

China claims Taiwan as its territory and has vowed to bring the island under its control one day, by force if necessary, and bristles at any official contact between Taipei and foreign governments.