US and Chinese defense ministers meet for the second time this year

The Chinese and US defense ministers met on Tuesday for their second private talks this year, a US official said.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin met with Chinese Defense Minister General Wei Fenghe in Singapore back in June. Thus, Tuesday's meeting will be the first ministerial meeting since US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan in August. Back then, her visit to Taiwan infuriated China, which considers the island its territory. The talks were held on the sidelines of a meeting of an ASEAN defense ministers gathering in Siem Reap, Cambodia.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, one of the US officials said the meeting between the two countries' defense ministers began at 10:00 local time (03:00 GMT). The meeting between Austin and Fenghe came after a three-hour meeting between US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping last week. The presidents’ meeting took place on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Indonesia. The purpose of the leaders' meeting was to prevent the escalation of strained relations between the countries.