A top Department of Defense official met with a Chinese government representative on Wednesday in what was the first official meeting between the Pentagon and Beijing since November.

Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs Dr. Ely Ratner spoke with Chinese Ambassador to the United States Xie Feng at the Pentagon, where they discussed "defense relations, as well as a range of international and regional security issues," Department of Defense spokesman Lt. Col. Martin Meiners said in a readout of the meeting. "Ratner also underscored the Department’s commitment to maintaining open lines of military-to-military communication between the United States and the PRC."

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Top officials in the Chinese Ministry of National Defense have ignored outreach attempts by their U.S. counterparts for months. The last time Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin officially met with his Chinese counterpart, Minister of National Defense Li Shangfu, was in November, though they shook hands and briefly spoke at the Shangri-La Summit in Singapore in early June.

U.S. defense officials have warned repeatedly over the last couple of months that the silence from Chinese military leaders only increases the possibility of a miscommunication that could lead to a consequential escalation between the two global powers.

"You've heard me say a number of times I think it's important that countries with significant military capacity and capabilities have the means to talk to each other so that we can we can manage potential crises and make sure that things aren't allowed to unnecessarily spiraled out of control," Austin said last month.

The department has seen “a steep rise in the region of PLA aerial intercepts in particular,” over the last 18 months, Ratner explained at an event last month, which he described as “more assertive, aggressive, unprofessional, risky, [and] unsafe behavior by the PLA.”

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Last month, DOD released footage of an aerial intercept of a U.S. Air Force RC-135, forcing it to fly through the Chinese pilot's turbulence wake while in another, a Chinese naval ship sailed in the way of U.S. and Canadian naval ships twice.

In order to mend the relationship, Secretaries Antony Blinken and Janet Yellen have traveled to Beijing for meetings with their Chinese counterparts, while Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry will travel there next week. Blinken said at the conclusion of his trip that Beijing declined to restart direct communication between the two country's militaries.