What’s new: Senior Chinese and U.S. military officials met during a defense conference last month, the Ministry of National Defense confirmed, adding that such exchanges between the two countries have not stopped.
Xu Qiling, the deputy chief of the Joint Staff Department of the Central Military Commission, met with representatives from the U.S. military when attending the Indo-Pacific Chiefs of Defense Conference in Fiji, while paying a visit to the Oceanic island country from Aug. 12 to Aug. 18, defense ministry spokesperson Wu Qian said Thursday at a press conference.
“The two sides have been maintaining candid and effective communication through military diplomatic channels,” Wu said, according to a ministry statement.
Wu also noted that difficulties and obstacles remain in the relationship, urging the U.S. to take concrete action in creating conditions for the two militaries to “get back on the right track.”
The background: The U.S. has complained about lack of communication between the two countries’ militaries. U.S. and Chinese defense ministers did not hold a bilateral meeting when they attended the Shangri-La Dialogue security summit in June, with the two chiefs only briefly shaking hands at a dinner.
Earlier in May, the U.S. State Department said it has no plan to lift sanctions including visa restrictions on Li Shangfu, China’s defense minister appointed to the role this year, Bloomberg reported.
On Wednesday, the U.S. State Department announced that it will provide the island of Taiwan with approximately $80 million worth of military assistance, an action that Beijing has strongly objected to.
Contact reporter Kelly Wang (jingzhewang@caixin.com) and editor Michael Bellart (michaelbellart@caixin.com)
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