Readout of December 2025 U.S.-China Defense Policy Coordination Talks

Mr. Alvaro Smith, Deputy Assistant Secretary of War for China, Taiwan, and Mongolia, met with People's Republic of China (PRC) Major General Ye Jiang, Deputy Director of the Central Military Commission Office for International Military Cooperation, in Washington, D.C. for the 19^th annual U.S.-China Defense Policy Coordination Talks from December 15-16.

DASW Smith reiterated the Department of War's support for a wider range of military-to-military communications with the People's Liberation Army (PLA) with the goal of supporting strategic stability as well as crisis deconfliction and de-escalation, more broadly. DASW Smith explained how such lines of communication align with and help to reinforce ongoing efforts by President Trump to achieve a stable peace and respectful relations between the United States and China. DASW Smith also reiterated that America's interests in the Indo-Pacific are significant, but also scoped and reasonable, and that DoW stands ready to defend them.

This week's talks follow Secretary of War Pete Hegseth's meeting with China's Minister of National Defense Admiral Dong Jun on the sidelines of the ASEAN Defense Ministers Meeting Plus (ADMM+) on October 31.