The US national security adviser talks with a top Chinese military official in Beijing

BEIJING (AP) — United States National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan met Thursday with a top Chinese military official as the two countries strengthen communication in an effort to prevent differences over the South China Sea and Taiwan from spiraling into conflict.

The meeting came one day after the White House said that both countries would plan for a phone call between Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Joe Biden in the coming weeks.

Sullivan was wrapping up a three-day trip to China, his first as national security adviser and one aimed at stabilizing bilateral relations to avoid conflict. His main talks were held over the past day and a half with Wang Yi, the foreign minister and the ruling Communist Party’s top foreign policy official.

The meeting Thursday was with Gen. Zhang Youxia, one of two vice chairs of the Central Military Commission, an organization that Xi personally heads. It was a rare meeting with a U.S. official that came at a time when both sides are eager to keep relations on an even keel ahead of a change in the U.S. presidency in January.

“Your request to meet with me shows the value you attach to military security and the relationship between our militaries,” Zhang told Sullivan in opening remarks.

A White House statement after the talks said the two had “recognized the progress in sustained, regular military-military communications over the past ten months” and noted the agreement announced Wednesday to hold a telephone call between commanders at the theater-level in the near future.

China suspended communication between the two militaries and in a few other fields after a senior U.S. lawmaker, then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, visited Taiwan in August 2022. Talks were only gradually