China: We are ready for talks with the US Secretary of Defense

China said on Sunday it was open to a meeting with the US defense secretary on the sidelines of a regional security forum in Cambodia this week, in a sign of improving ties after the two countries’ leaders met earlier this month.
Earlier, Chinese Defense Minister Wei Fenghe and US Defense Secretary Austin Lloyd confirmed separately that they would attend a meeting with defense ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
On Sunday, the Chinese Ministry of Defense issued a statement quoting ministry spokesman Tan Kefe as saying that “China adopts an open and positive attitude towards exchanging views with the United States.”
He also said that the two sides are coordinating an “exchange of views” in the forum scheduled for Wednesday.
The meeting will be the high-level military meeting between the two countries since China suspended regular dialogue between the two countries’ military leaders in August in response to US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan.
China considers democratically governed Taiwan a breakaway province.
Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Joe Biden held meetings in Indonesia last week, on the sidelines of the G20 summit, in their first face-to-face meeting since Biden took office in early 2021.
Relations between the world’s two largest economies have deteriorated in recent years for reasons such as trade, human rights and Taiwan.