WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed Wednesday to restore some military-to-military communications between their armed forces as the two leaders met for hours on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in San Francisco.
Both sides pledged cooperation that would bring the U.S and China closer to resuming regular talks under what's known as the Military Maritime Consultative Agreement, which until 2020 had been used to improve safety in the air and on the sea.
A senior U.S. official said after the Biden-Xi meeting ended that the military communication agreements mean that U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin can meet with his Chinese counterpart once that person is named. The official spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity to discuss a private meeting.
This also opens the door for agreements at less-senior levels, including allowing the Hawaii-based commander of U.S. Pacific forces to engage with counterpart theater commanders, the official said. The agreement further will likely mean operational engagements between ship drivers and others at a much lower levels in each country.
Xi said after the meeting that he and Biden agreed to resume high-level military dialogues on the basis of equity and respect, according to a statement released by China Central Television, the state broadcaster.
The agreement comes after U.S. military leaders had expressed repeated…
