China's defence chief on Friday told his US counterpart that Taiwan is part of China during face-to-face talks in Singapore.

The Minister of National Defence General Wei Fenghe and US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin met at the Shangri-La Dialogue security summit for nearly an hour, double the time initially allotted for the meeting.

It was the first face-to-face meeting between the pair since US President Joe Biden took office last year, although they spoke by phone in April.

Wei said the talks "went smoothly". A Chinese defence ministry spokesman later said Wei reiterated Beijing's firm stance that Taiwan is part of China.

Austin called on China to "refrain from further destabilising actions" on Taiwan, a US statement issued after the talks said. (Reuters)