US and Chinese defense departments agree to develop communication measures to reduce risks

Meeting in Washington

Representatives of the US and Chinese defense departments agreed on the 'importance of advancing practical communication measures to reduce risks' between the two countries. This was reported by the Anadolu agency citing a Pentagon statement. The meeting took place in Washington on Monday and Tuesday as part of the annual working group on crisis communication and prevention.

Participants and agenda

The US was represented by Cynthia 'Xanthi' Carras, senior director for China, Taiwan and Mongolia at the Pentagon, and China by Senior Colonel Wang Wei, deputy director of the Office for International Military Cooperation of the People's Liberation Army. According to the Pentagon, the working group also discussed 'additional channels for effective crisis management' and ways to communicate promptly. The department added that it would continue discussions with the PLA on key defense issues in the coming months. The Chinese side, as Anadolu notes, did not publish an official concluding statement on the meeting.

Context of military contacts

The meeting was the first in this format since the summit between Xi Jinping and Donald Trump in Washington on September 24. Then, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry, the sides reached 'eight agreements and understandings,' including the intention of the militaries 'to conclude a memorandum of understanding on crisis communication and prevention as soon as possible' and to continue cooperation in searching for the remains of missing American service members on Chinese territory. The working group convened a few days before Trump's visit to China planned for the end of the month for the APEC summit. Earlier, in early September, PLA Eastern Theater Command commander General Yang Zhibin and Admiral Samuel Paparo met for the first time in two years at the Indo-Pacific Chiefs of Defense conference in Victoria, Canada.