The meeting was due to take place this weekend on the sidelines of an annual security forum in Singapore.
China has rejected a US request for a meeting between US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu. The meeting was to take place on the sidelines of the ShangriLa Dialogue, a security forum due to take place in Singapore this weekend.
The information about the Chinese refusal was leaked by the Pentagon to The Wall Street Journal on Monday (May 29, 2023). According to the publication, US officials found China’s denials an extraordinarily powerful message.
The Pentagon said China’s refusal to attend the meeting came “overnight.” The agency said it submitted the application in early May.
“The Department firmly believes that it is important to keep communications open between Washington and Beijing to ensure competition does not escalate into conflict,” the statement said.
Beijing has questioned the sincerity of the United States pushing for the meeting, citing sanctions Washington has imposed on the Asian country since 2018, when Li Shangfu headed the Chinese army’s armaments departments and warplanes and missile equipment from Russia bought.
In a statement to the Wall Street Journal, Liu Pengyu, a spokesman for the Chinese embassy in Washington, said the US is trying to “repress China by any means possible and continues to impose sanctions on Chinese officials, institutions and companies.” He asked, “Is such communication sincere and meaningful?”
Relations between China and the United States have been strained since last year, as thenUS House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan in August. Although the island has been governed independently since 1949, China considers it a breakaway province as part of its territory.
Tensions escalated in February when the US shot down a Chinese balloon believed to have been used for espionage which China denies. The Americans even warned Beijing about arms sales to Russia and allowed Taiwanese President Tsai Ingwen to travel to the US and meet current House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, among others.