News Snapshot:
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin held a call with his Chinese opposite number for the first time while in office Wednesday as a follow-up to last month’s virtual meeting between President Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping. In a readout of the 45-minute call, the Pentagon revealed that Austin and Chinese Minister of National Defense Gen. Wei Genghe talked “defense relations” between the two countries, as well as “regional security issues, and Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.” Austin previously attempted to talk with Gen. Xu Qiliang, China’s highest-ranking uniformed officer, who holds more influence than Wei. The defense secretary failed to...
