US military talks with China are priority at Joe Biden-Xi Jinping summit

China suspended defense communications last year to protest then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan. Military ties were further complicated when Beijing in March appointed a US-sanctioned general as defense minster, and cited the removal of those measures as a condition for talks with Pentagon Chief Lloyd Austin.

The abrupt firing of Li Shangfu last month, however, cleared the way for Beijing to appoint a non-sanctioned minister, potentially eliminating one barrier to high-level talks. China has yet to name Li’s replacement.

Lower-level military ties have already resumed in recent months. Admiral John Aquilino, who leads the US Indo-Pacific Command, met General Xu Qiling, deputy joint chief of staff of the People’s Liberation Army, in Fiji in August.

Sullivan said a military hotline should also be restored between top defense officials "all the way down to the tactical, operational level."

Iran is on the agenda for the Biden-Xi meeting Wednesday during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in San Francisco — their first face-to-face meeting in a year and Xi’s first trip to the US in six years.

"Certainly, the question of Iran’s nuclear program and the threat it poses will be on the agenda, as will the threat that Iran poses to regional stability, and the threat it poses to US forces in the region," Sullivan said on CBS.

The US is seeking to tighten sanctions against Iran, which is a key source of oil for China, as Tehran supports groups such as Hamas, which carried out the October 7 attack on Israel. The US and Europe classify Hamas as a terrorist group.