US-China defense talks resume as two sides meet in Washington

WASHINGTON — Senior Chinese military officials visited Washington this week for two days of meetings with their American counterparts — the latest communication channel between the two nations to restart after more than a yearlong lapse.

The meetings — officially called the Defense Policy Coordination Talks, or DPCT — offered a chance for each country to share concerns and schedule other meetings throughout the year.

“They’re an opportunity for us to be frank and candid with the PRC about how we see the relationship and any concerns that we have,” said a senior American defense official, who spoke with reporters last week on the condition of anonymity.

Starting Jan. 8, the forum occurred for the first time since 2021, after China severed military talks following former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan in August 2022. China’s government considers Taiwan a rogue province that will one-day reunite with the mainland.

Since then, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army has grown more aggressive around the Taiwan Strait and across the region. In the last two years, PLA jets have buzzed past American aircraft some 180 times, according to the Pentagon . Whereas Chinese ships and planes used to carefully avoid crossing the midline between the mainland and Taiwan, since Pelosi’s visit they now regularly do so.

This change in behavior added to the urgency with which Pentagon officials called for the two militaries to start talking again.

President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping agreed while meeting in San Francisco late last year to resume senior-level military communications. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. CQ Brown officially reopened talks after speaking with PLA Gen. Liu Zhenli, his Chinese counterpart, in December.

This week will be the 17th DPCT, which has historically been held annually, alternating between Beijing and Washington.

On the American side were Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for China, Taiwan and Mongolia Michael Chase, leading a team mostly made up of Pentagon officials. Major Gen. Song Yanchao, the Deputy Director of the China’s Central Military Commission’s Office for International Military Cooperation, will lead the Chinese delegation.

A quarter of the meetings focused on scheduling other talks while the rest covered policy, the official said.

In a readout, the Pentagon said that the delegations discussed operational safety, the war in Ukraine, recent behavior from North Korea and U.S. policy toward Taiwan, among other topics.

The next channel to resume will likely be the U.S.-China Military Maritime Consultative Agreement meetings, during which the two countries’ navies discuss operating near each other safely, the official said.

Despite the talks restarting, the official acknowledged China has a history of cutting off communication to signal displeasure, and there’s nothing preventing that from happening again.

“We’re … clear-eyed about the prospects in that respect,” the official said.

Noah Robertson is the Pentagon reporter at Defense News. He previously covered national security for the Christian Science Monitor. He holds a bachelor’s degree in English and government from the College of William & Mary in his hometown of Williamsburg, Virginia.

华盛顿——本周，中国高级军官访问华盛顿，与美国同行举行了为期两天的会谈——这是两国中断一年多后重启的最新沟通渠道。

这些会议——正式名称为国防政策协调会谈（DPCT）——为每个国家提供了一个分享关切并安排全年其他会议的机会。

一位美国高级国防官员上周在匿名的情况下接受记者采访时表示：“这让我们有机会向中华人民共和国坦诚地表达我们对两国关系的看法以及我们所关心的任何问题。”

自2021年以来，中美军事论坛于1月8日首次举行。此前，中国在前众议院议长南希·佩洛西于2022年8月访问台湾后中断了与台湾的军事会谈。中国政府认为台湾是一个叛离省份，终有一天会与大陆统一。

此后，中国人民解放军在台湾海峡及整个地区的行动日益强硬。据五角大楼统计，过去两年里，解放军战机已近180次从美国飞机头顶掠过。过去，中国舰船和飞机通常会谨慎地避免越过大陆与台湾之间的中线，但自佩洛西访问台湾以来，它们却经常这样做。

这种行为变化更加凸显了五角大楼官员呼吁两国军队重新开始对话的紧迫性。

美国总统乔·拜登和中国国家主席习近平去年底在旧金山会晤时同意恢复高层军事沟通。美军参谋长联席会议主席布朗上将在去年12月与解放军总参谋长刘振力上将通话后，正式重启了对话。

本周将举行第17届世界和平与发展大会（DPCT），该大会历来每年举行一次，在北京和华盛顿之间轮流举办。

美方代表团由负责中国、台湾和蒙古事务的国防部副助理部长迈克尔·蔡斯率领，代表团成员主要由五角大楼官员组成。中方代表团将由中央军委国际军事合作办公室副主任宋彦超少将率领。

这位官员表示，四分之一的会议侧重于安排其他会谈，其余会议则涉及政策。

五角大楼在一份声明中表示，双方代表团讨论了作战安全、乌克兰战争、朝鲜近期行为以及美国对台湾的政策等议题。

这位官员表示，下一个恢复的渠道很可能是美中海上军事磋商协议会议，届时两国海军将讨论如何在彼此附近安全行动。

尽管会谈已经重启，但这位官员承认，中国有切断沟通以表达不满的历史，而且没有任何措施可以阻止这种情况再次发生。

“我们……对这方面的前景有着清醒的认识，”这位官员说。

诺亚·罗伯逊是《防务新闻》的五角大楼记者。他此前曾为《基督教科学箴言报》报道国家安全新闻。他拥有弗吉尼亚州威廉斯堡威廉与玛丽学院的英语和政治学学士学位。