U.S. And China Hold Highest-Level Call After MONTHS Of Silence

The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Charles "CQ" Brown Jr., engaged in a conversation with his Chinese counterpart, General Liu Zhenli, who heads the Joint Staff Department of the Central Military Commission in the People's Liberation Army.

A senior U.S. official, speaking to Fox News, emphasized the significance of this development. "We've been clear about the importance of opening lines of military to military communications with the PRC at the senior most levels. However, it's just one step, an important step, but it's not the last step," the official said.

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The official further elaborated on the ongoing efforts to foster dialogue with China. "And that's why we're continuing to have working level discussions with the PRC about future engagements to make sure that we deliver on what President Biden and Chairman Xi agreed to in November," they added.

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During their conversation, the two military leaders "discussed a number of global and regional security issues," according to a U.S. readout of the call. General Brown underscored the necessity of managing competition responsibly, avoiding miscalculations, and maintaining open and direct lines of communication. He also reiterated the importance of the People’s Liberation Army engaging in substantive dialogue to reduce the likelihood of misunderstandings.

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December 21, 2023

This reestablishment of high-level communications comes after a significant deterioration in relations between the two nations. The downturn was triggered by the visit of then-Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan in August 2022. China, which asserts sovereignty over Taiwan despite the island's autonomous government, promptly terminated various diplomatic collaborations, including the kind of phone calls that have now been resumed.

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The last phone call at this level was made by then-Chairman General Mark Milley to his counterpart in July 2022. The U.S. official attributed the recent thaw to President Biden's persistent overtures to Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping.

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President Biden met with Xi last month at the Asian-Pacific Economic Cooperation conference, following their first in-person meeting in November 2022 in Bali, Indonesia. During these interactions, both leaders agreed on the need for more direct communication between U.S. and Chinese leadership.

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The U.S. official underscored the importance of this renewed communication to Fox News. "These are the kinds of discussions that we need to have to try to avoid misunderstanding or miscalculation. And having those open channels of communication obviously, is a key part of that," they said.

The official concluded by stating, "We view the call tomorrow as an important step of this, but also not the only step. And we have more work that we're continuing to do on this front."