Defense chiefs of US, China hold talks for first time in 17 months

The defense chiefs of the United States and China have held talks for the first time in about one year and five months.

The US Defense Department says Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with his Chinese counterpart Dong Jun via video teleconference on Tuesday.

Defense chiefs of the two countries last met in November, 2022.

US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping held a summit last November and agreed to resume dialogue between the two countries' defense officials.