US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin to meet with Chinese counterpart ‘when that person is named’

Top-level US-China military talks must wait until Beijing appoints a new defence minister, the Pentagon said on Thursday, a day after Presidents Joe Biden and Xi Jinping agreed to resume direct military communications.

“As these agreements were just reached yesterday, we know that we have work to do with [China’s] military to solidify these principles for actions,” said Sabrina Singh, the deputy Pentagon press secretary. US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin “will meet with his counterpart when that person is named”, she said.