China calls for greater trust with US in talks between defence chiefs

China has said its defence minister called for greater "trust" between Beijing and Washington in their defence chiefs' first substantive talks in nearly 18 months.

"China and the United States should... take peace as the most precious, stability as the most important," Dong Jun told US counterpart Lloyd Austin on Tuesday, according to a Beijing readout, adding they should "gradually build up mutual trust between the two militaries".

"The military sphere is the key... to stabilising the development of the relationship and preventing major crises from occurring," Dong said.

Presidents Joe Biden and Xi Jinping are "committed to promoting the stabilisation and improvement of bilateral relations", the defence chief said. He also warned the US about Taiwan, an island that Beijing says is its breakaway province which will be reunited with mainland China one day.

"Dong Jun emphasised that the Taiwan issue is the core of China's core interests," the Defence Ministry readout said.

The Chinese military, he warned, "will never sit idly by all 'Taiwan independence' separatist activities" or "external connivance and support" for it.

He also urged the US to respect his country's position on the South China Sea, which Beijing claims almost entirely, and tensions have flared in recent months.

"The US side should recognise China's firm position, respect China's territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests in the South China Sea, and take practical actions to safeguard regional peace," Dong said.

Maintaining tense ties

The US has been working to strengthen defence cooperation with its allies in the Asia-Pacific region to counter China's influence, but also wants to maintain lines of communication with Beijing to prevent tensions from spiralling out of control.

"The two officials discussed US-PRC defence relations and regional and global security issues," the Pentagon said in a statement, referring to the People's Republic of China.

"Secretary Austin emphasised the importance of continuing to open lines of military-to-military communication between the United States and the PRC" following talks between the two sides in recent months, the statement said.

There are multiple points of contention between Washington and Beijing, especially over Taiwan, which China said it will not rule out using force to bring under its control.

Beijing halted cooperation with the United States on issues including defence talks in August 2022 to express its displeasure over a visit by then-US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to the island, but US President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping agreed at a summit in November to resume discussions.