US defence secretary Lloyd Austin has spoken to his Chinese counterpart for the first time, in the latest effort to ease tensions between the militaries since President Joe Biden held a summit with Xi Jinping last year.
The Pentagon said Austin spoke on Tuesday to Dong Jun, a retired admiral who became defence minister in December. It was the first significant minister-level engagement between the militaries since November 2022.
The call is the latest effort to stabilise ties since Xi, the president of China, agreed in San Francisco to resume military engagements that China halted after then-US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan in 2022. It also comes as US secretary of state Antony Blinken prepares to visit China in the coming weeks.
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