The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the ruling party of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), has demonstrated little interest in engaging in serious talks with the United States about the fraying relationship between the global superpowers and its potentially catastrophic consequences. 
U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, however, in his address on June 2 at a major international security conference in Singapore, placed the importance of talks front and center.  
Austin delivered his speech at the IISS Shangri-La Dialogue 2023, the 20th annual event that brings together national defense, security, and military chiefs with the aim of building and strengthening community and exploring sectors of common interest in the Indo-Pacific region….