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Albee Zhang

China and the US have ended a two-year break in command-level contact with a meeting in Canada between the top PLA officer overseeing the Taiwan Strait and his US Pacific counterpart.
Chinese General Yang Zhibin, commander of the Eastern Theatre Command, and US Admiral Samuel Paparo met for the first time at the Indo-Pacific Chiefs of Defence Conference in Victoria, British Columbia, on Monday.
The US command said on Friday that Yang and Paparo discussed the importance of maintaining open lines of communication between senior US and Chinese military leaders to reduce the risk of miscalculation and to promote safe and professional conduct between forces.
The conference was co-hosted by the Canadian Armed Forces and the US Pacific Command and took place from Monday to Wednesday. A total of 32 senior military representatives from 29 countries attended.


This is the second theatre-level contact since China scaled back military ties with the US in August 2022.
Engagement resumed after the Chinese and US presidents agreed in San Francisco in 2023 to restart communications between the People’s Liberation Army and the Pentagon.
The last such contact was in Hawaii at the Indo-Pacific Chiefs of Defence Conference in September 2024, when Paparo held talks with General Wu Yanan, the then-commander of the PLA Southern Theatre Command.
At that meeting, the US Pacific Command said Paparo sent a similar message, underscoring “the importance of sustained lines of communication between the US military and the PLA to reduce the risk of misperception or miscalculation”.
China opted out of the conference held in Thailand last year.
At this year’s gathering, Yang used a speech to outline the position and achievements of the Chinese military in maintaining regional peace and stability and to propose that regional countries strengthen defence cooperation and exchange, Chinese defence ministry spokesman Jiang Bin said on Friday.
The Chinese delegation also held bilateral meetings with delegates from various countries, including the United States, France and Singapore, Jiang said, without giving further details.
Paparo also held bilateral meetings with counterparts from Asia and Europe to discuss shared security interests, and took part in meetings of the Defence Cooperation Council, and the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, or Quad.
In addition, he met counterparts from Britain and Australia to discuss Aukus, a trilateral security pact centred on equipping Australia with conventionally armed, nuclear-powered submarines to deepen military integration across the Indo-Pacific.
The defence conference brings together military leaders, practitioners and regional experts to discuss regional security issues, including non-defence and non-military perspectives.
The 2026 gathering focused on shared security challenges, interoperability, emerging technologies and respect for international law, the Canadian government said.
It said these exchanges strengthened relationships among defence leaders and reinforced the importance of sustained cooperation in addressing common challenges across the Indo-Pacific.


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China

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Yang Zhibin and Samuel Paparo meet to keep communication lines open between the two armed forces


Yang Zhibin and Samuel Paparo meet to keep communication lines open between the two armed forces.


Canada

United States

Victoria

The Pentagon (US Department of Defence)

China, US military commanders snap 2-year break with talks in Canada

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Yang Zhibin and Samuel Paparo meet to keep communication lines open between the two armed forces

Yang Zhibin and Samuel Paparo meet to keep communication lines open between the two armed forces