Trump’s war secretary Hegseth and Pacific Command chief Paparo may ‘soon visit China’
Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth and US Pacific Command head Admiral Samuel Paparo may visit China “soon”, according to a veteran China hand. Stephen Orlins, president of the non-profit organisation National Committee on United States-China Relations (NCUSCR), disclosed the potential visit during a video address at a conference on Friday in Sanya, in southern China’s Hainan province. More than 400…
Pentagon Chief Pete Hegseth and US Pacific Command Head Admiral Samuel Paparo may soon visit China, according to Stephen Orlins, President of the National Committee on United States-China Relations (NCUSCR). This visit would take place during the Global Maritime Cooperation and Ocean Governance event in Sanya, southern China's Hainan province.
Orlins emphasized that such visits are crucial for regularising military-to-military communication between Beijing and Washington, and suggested that the focus should be on preventing accidental clashes, especially in the South China Sea, which has become a flashpoint for potential military confrontations. The visit would be the first for a US Pacific Command chief since 2015.
Hegseth and Paparo have been in talks for a potential China visit, possibly before the end of the year, and sources suggest that reciprocal visits by Hegseth and Chinese Defence Minister Dong Jun have been discussed since the September meeting between Xi Jinping and Donald Trump. However, the Pentagon and US Pacific Command have not commented on the matter at this time.
Written by urgent.news from South China Morning Post's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
