Chinese military officials met US and Russian naval officials this week

25/4/2024 18:36

        Senior Chinese military officials held separate meetings with U.S. and Russian naval counterparts during a Western Pacific naval symposium in Qingdao this week, a Chinese defence ministry spokesperson said on Thursday.
        
        Spokesperson Wu Qian told a media briefing in Beijing that China's naval commander Admiral Hu Zhongming and political commissar Yuan Huazhi had a "deep exchange of views" with U.S. Pacific Fleet chief Admiral Stephen Koehler and Russia's naval commander Admiral Alexander Moiseyev.
        
        Wu said, "The PLA navy is willing to work with all countries to further strengthen communication, enhance trust and play a positive and constructive role in building a maritime community with a shared future."
        
        The confirmation of the Hu-Koehler meeting was the latest sign that liaisons between the Chinese and U.S. militaries is returning to normal following a communications breakdown after then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan in August 2022.
        
        Wu gave no more details of Hu's meeting with Koehler.
        
        Hu and Yuan also met naval counterparts from France, Chile and Cambodia as part of a symposium that also included Japanese, Indian, British and Australian officials amid heightened regional tensions.