Top US, China officials talk for first time in over a year

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: News websites
22 Dec 2023 14:17

This is the fruition of the latest meeting between US President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping in San Francisco back in November, when it was concluded that the two countries would delegate officials to communicate with each other again.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Air Force Gen. CQ Brown on Wednesday, November 22, 2023, at the Pentagon in Washington. (AP)

China’s Defense Ministry cited the Chief of Staff of China’s Central Military Commission General Liu Zhenli as telling US Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Charles Q. Brown that the “right perception” toward China should be established by the US to improve bilateral relations - which happened when the officials from the two countries talked for the first time in over a year.

This was the fruition of the latest meeting between US President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping in San Francisco back in November, when it was concluded that the two countries would delegate officials to communicate with each other again.

In its statement, the Chinese Defense Ministry relayed that the videoconference on Thursday between Brown and Liu was set up at the request of the US.

Liu voiced to his American counterpart that the issue of Taiwan “is purely China’s internal affair, which brooks no foreign interference,” reiterating China's readiness to “resolutely defend” its sovereignty and territorial integrity.

The US continues to send a small number of military trainers to Taiwan and militarize the island through arms sales.

Liu also urged the US to respect Chinese interests in the South China Sea and resort to “concrete actions to safeguard regional peace and stability,” as cited by the ministry.

Righting the wrongs

The statement noted that Liu perceived the resumption of communications with the US military as a significant development but did not leave out that the enhancement in bilateral ties would only happen if the US develops the “right perception toward China… respect China’s core interests… and promote pragmatic cooperation and enhance mutual understanding.”

The Pentagon, while reading out the conversation, said that both “discussed the importance of working together to responsibly manage competition, avoid miscalculations, and maintain open and direct lines of communication.”

Brown told his counterpart that China should be “engaging in substantive dialogue to reduce the likelihood of misunderstandings” as he urged for lines of communication to be established between the chief of the US Indio-Pacific Command and the leaders of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern and Southern Theater Commands, as well as for the resumption of dialogue in other ways.

The readout concluded that a range of global and regional security issues were also brought up.

Relations between the two countries have significantly deteriorated in the past years due to Washington's increasingly hostile policies against Beijing and its encroaching on its geopolitical sphere, particularly regarding Taiwan.