Top US military officer speaks with Chinese counterpart as US aims to warm relations with Beijing

By LOLITA C. BALDOR
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Gen. CQ Brown, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has spoken with his Chinese counterpart. It is the first of what officials say will be renewed talks between the two nation’s senior military leaders, as the Biden administration works to thaw relations with Beijing. The video call between Brown and Gen. Liu Zhenli is the first senior military communications between the U.S. and China since August 2022, when Beijing suspended all such contacts after former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan.  It comes on the heels of similar conversations between top U.S. and Chinese diplomats, triggered by the meeting last month between President Joe Biden and President Xi Jinping.