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US Defense Secretary James Mattis and Chinese Defense Minister Wei Fenghe spoke for an hour and a half behind closed doors, according to Randall Schriver, US Assistant Secretary of Defense for Security Affairs in Asia and in the Pacific.
"The (US) secretary has made it very clear that we will continue to operate where international law permits," Schriver told reporters.
The meeting is taking place in a context of increasing economic, military and political tensions between Washington and Beijing, ranging from the escalation of the trade war to allegations of Chinese political interference by US President Donald Trump.
The meeting was almost canceled once earlier in October, but had been postponed at the request of China on October 17 and took place on the sidelines of the ASEAN Forum in Singapore on Thursday.
"Neither party really wants full-fledged strategic competition, disengaging itself, dissociating itself from each other," said Bonnie Glaser, director of CSIS China Power Project in Washington.
"(The Chinese) like the idea of regular dialogues, which is an important way for (Chinese president) Xi Jinping to let his national population know that he is in control of US-China relations, that they are not out of control. . "
Tensions in the South China Sea
China's ongoing militarization of artificial islands in the South China Sea, one of the world's most important shipping lanes, has been a subject of longstanding dispute between the two countries.
Most countries view the Chinese government's vast territorial claims at sea as a direct violation of international law, but this has not prevented Beijing from building and weaponizing islets and reefs.
To assert the international right to freedom of navigation in the South China Sea, Washington conducts regular naval operations near the Chinese-controlled territory in the region.
Under the Trump government, the dispute has become increasingly difficult as the Pentagon has stepped up the number and intensity of freedom of navigation operations, which China sees as a provocation.
The meeting of Mattis and Wei comes just days after two B-52H Stratofortress bombers took part in what the US Air Force called a "routine training mission in the vicinity of the South China Sea ".
Asked on the flights on Thursday, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said it was working to confirm the details but "firmly opposed to the behavior of any country endangering the sovereignty and interests of coastal countries, and undermining regional peace and stability navigation and overflight. "
"We always respect and protect the freedom of navigation and overflight of each country in the South China Sea in accordance with international laws," said spokesman Lu Kang.
Mattis and Wei have not discussed the Decatur incident, Schriver said.
