China, US defence officials agree to improve ‘communication’ to reduce risks

US and Chinese defence officials met in Washington for the first meeting of a Crisis Communications and Prevention Working Group established under an agreement announced in September when leaders of the two nations met.

The two sides agreed on the importance of “advancing practical communication measures” to reduce risks between the US and China, according to a Pentagon readout of the meeting released Tuesday. Delegates also discussed “additional channels” to promote “effective” crisis management and ways to communicate “expediently and effectively”.

“The Department of War will continue to advance discussions with the PLA on key defence issues in the coming months,” the Pentagon release said, without providing specific details.

According to the Pentagon, the November 2 and 3 gathering involved Cynthia “Xanthi” Carras, the principal director for China, Taiwan and Mongolia from the Office of the US Undersecretary of War for Policy, as well as Senior Colonel Wang Wei, deputy director of the Americas and Oceania Affairs Bureau in the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Office of International Military Cooperation.

It was the first such gathering of military officials from the two countries since China’s foreign ministry announced on September 26 that Beijing and Washington agreed to accelerate and conclude a memorandum of understanding on “crisis communication and prevention”.

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Days earlier, Chinese President Xi Jinping made a state visit to Washington for talks with US President Donald Trump. Beijing’s announcement of the military deal was made separately from eight summit readouts covering trade, artificial intelligence, counternarcotics cooperation and international affairs.

The two militaries already have consultation arrangements and senior communication channels. The Chinese foreign ministry announcement in September did not provide additional details about the new crisis management hotline.

It also did not appear in Washington’s post-summit readouts or in any deliverables from US defence and military branches, such as the Pentagon or the US military’s Indo-Pacific Command.

When Xi arrived in the US for the summit, he said “the Thucydides Trap can be overcome” and that the two militaries should maintain regular dialogue and “improve mechanisms for crisis communication and prevention”. Chinese defence minister Dong Jun did not join Xi on the September trip, and Beijing’s delegation did not include any other senior military officials.

The focus on crisis management suggests that potential conflict over Taiwan would be the focus of the military communication channel between Beijing and Washington, amid simmering tensions in the Taiwan Strait. In August 2022, mainland China severed its hotline with the US to protest against a visit to the self-ruled island by then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Beijing sees Taiwan as part of China to be reunited by force if necessary. Most countries, including the US, do not recognise Taiwan as an independent nation, but Washington opposes any attempt to seize the self-governing island by force and has pledged to supply it with weapons.

The two countries agreed to unfreeze the channel in November 2023, after Xi met with then-US president Joe Biden in San Francisco, but actual communications on the link have been limited. Efforts to restore the military communication channel have continued during Trump’s second term.

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US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth held the first in-person bilateral meeting with his Chinese counterpart Dong in October last year on the sidelines of the Asean Defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus in Malaysia. The pair agreed to establish military-to-military communications channels at the Kuala Lumpur talks and a follow-up phone call.

However, the commanders responsible for potential Taiwan contingencies have met in person in recent months. Chinese General Yang Zhibin, commander of the Eastern Theatre Command, and US Admiral Samuel Paparo, commander of the Pacific Command, held face-to-face talks in Canada in August, the first such meeting in two years.