Australian and Chinese military officials have held security talks for the first time in about four years as Canberra works to defrost its relationship with Beijing.

Australian Defence Force officials hosted a delegation from the People’s Liberation Army in Canberra for a half-day meeting on Wednesday.

It was the first formal meeting of defence officials since 2019 after Defence Minister Richard Marles and his Chinese counterpart General Wei Feng agreed to reinstate the defence co-ordination dialogue in November.

“The dialogue was conducted in a professional atmosphere with both sides exchanging views on regional security issues,” an Australian defence department spokesperson said.

China’s National Defence Ministry said in a statement: “Negotiations have further enhanced mutual understanding, which is conducive to the healthy and stable development of the relationship between the two militaries”.

Although the relationship between Canberra and Beijing has been improving, China doubled down in its criticism of Australia’s plans to get nuclear-powered submarines after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced the pathway to the acquisition last week.

-AAP