By Jarrett Renshaw and Trevor Hunnicutt
ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE (Reuters) – The United States is “eager” to resume stalled military-to-military talks with China, White House spokesperson John Kirby said on Friday.
A lack of contact may be due to there being no named Chinese counterpart for U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Kirby told reporters aboard Air Force One.
U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping agreed last month at a closely watched California summit to resume such contacts, which were severed after then-House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan in August 2022.
Biden aides have said that the talks can prevent a range of differences between the countries, including in the South China Sea and towards Taiwan, from veering into conflict.
The militaries of the U.S. and China have had a number of near-misses and acrimonious exchanges over the past year.
(Reporting by Jarrett Renshaw and Trevor Hunnicutt; Editing by Grant McCool)