US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said he was looking forward to meeting his Chinese counterpart for the first time at next month’s Shangri-La Dialogue Asian security summit to promote security and stability, after describing “countering aggression and bullying from China” as a “pacing challenge”.
Austin told the US Senate Appropriations Committee on Tuesday he hoped his engagement with General Wei Fenghe would be the first of many and that both men recognised the importance of dialogue and maintaining open channels. They first spoke by phone on April 20.
