The US and China have agreed to establish military-to-military channels to “resolve conflicts and reduce tensions on all issues” following a “historic” meeting between President Donald Trump and President Xi Jinping, the US defense secretary said.
Pete Hegseth said in a statement on Saturday’s X show that he made the decision following a phone call the night before with Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun.
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There was no immediate comment from the Chinese government.
Hegseth said that the two leaders, who met in Malaysia after their summit in South Korea, “agreed that peace, stability and good relations are the best things about our two great and strong countries.”
“Admiral Dong and I also agreed that inter-military channels should be established to resolve conflicts and alleviate the problems that arose,” he added.
Experts have long supported direct military contact between the two superpowers, whose navies operate extensively in the Asia-Pacific, arguing that hotlines are the best way to avoid unintended escalation.
But these contacts remain irregular as tensions between the two countries rise and fall.
The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a US-based think tank, announced in May that most of the more than 90 communication channels between the US and Chinese governments went dormant between 2017 and 2021, during President Trump’s first term.
China continued to sever what little ties it had with the U.S. military in 2022 under then-U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration, when then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan, an autonomous island that Beijing claims as its own province.
This development was followed by a series of close encounters between Chinese and US forces in the disputed South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait.
That includes condemning the US military’s decision to fly in front of a US surveillance flight over the South China Sea in May 2023, calling it an “unnecessarily aggressive maneuver.” A few days later, in June of the same year, the US military announced that a Chinese Navy destroyer had once again crossed the path of a US destroyer on a “dangerous” voyage.
Beijing said at the time that the blame rested with the United States, accusing its rival of deliberately “creating risks” by sending ships near its shores.
Tensions eased after Biden and Xi met in November 2023, and the two leaders also agreed to resume high-level communications between their militaries.
CSIS said in May that such communications have been “restricted” since Trump returned to office in January. He also pointed out that as President Trump accelerates the trade war with China, there is no crisis management channel between the United States and China, increasing the risk of the situation escalating further.
President Trump and Xi met in South Korea on October 30, and the US president took several steps to cool the temperature, including easing tariffs on Chinese goods from 57% to 47%.
President Trump also said China has agreed to continue supplying rare earth metals. However, no agreement has been announced regarding the sale of TikTok to U.S. investors or plans to sell Nvidia’s advanced semiconductor chips.
President Trump also announced that he would visit China in April and said that President Xi would visit the United States shortly thereafter.
Mr. Hegseth met with Chinese Defense Minister Dong on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit in Malaysia, the day after the summit between President Trump and Mr. Xi.
“I emphasized the importance of maintaining the balance of power in the Indo-Pacific and emphasized the United States’ concerns about China’s activities in the South China Sea, around Taiwan, and against our allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific,” he said in a post on X after the meeting.
It added: “The United States does not seek conflict and will continue to resolutely defend our interests and ensure the ability to do so in the region.”
China’s Ministry of Defense announced that Mr. Dong told Mr. Hegseth that the unification of China and Taiwan is an “unstoppable trend of history” and urged the United States to be cautious in both words and deeds regarding the Taiwan issue.
The newspaper quoted Dong as saying that China is committed to peaceful development while resolutely safeguarding national security interests.
“We are fully capable of responding calmly to any violation or provocation,” the statement added.
