As tensions between Beijing and Washington continue to rise, China has rejected a request from the United States for a meeting between the defense ministers of the two nations.
The Wall Street Journal reported that China’s decision on Monday was apparently a result of Beijing’s anger toward Washington over the latter’s sanctions against the Chinese defense minister.
Aside from a yearly security forum in Singapore, which is scheduled for this weekend, the Pentagon had requested that the meeting be held there.
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The Pentagon told the Journal in a statement that “the PRC (the People’s Republic of China) informed the US overnight that they have declined our early May invitation for [Defense] Secretary [Lloyd] Austin to meet with PRC Minister of National Defense Li Shangfu in Singapore this week.”
The new development came after the US military expressed its displeasure on Thursday over the Chinese government’s repeated refusal to engage in such official contact.
Ely Ratner, the US Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs, expressed dissatisfaction with the Pentagon’s recent efforts to engage China’s military after Beijing vowed to sever ties with the US over recent sanctions against its top defense official. Beijing’s military had previously rejected or ignored the Pentagon’s outreach efforts.
Beijing informed Washington earlier this month that “there is little chance” that Li would meet with his American counterpart in Singapore due to sanctions imposed on him because of his alleged involvement in the purchase of Russian advanced weapons.
Beijing went on to say last week that it did not see any reason to continue discussions with Washington as long as the US pursued a completely dishonest course of action.
The spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Mao Ning, asked the question at a press conference last Monday: “Where is the sincerity and sense of dialogue when the US side talks about the need to maintain contacts only to use them as a means to put pressure on China and hamstring our country.
She added, “It is necessary to create a favorable atmosphere and favorable conditions for dialogue and contact.” She also demanded that Washington “immediately lift sanctions” against Beijing. “.
A visit by Nancy Pelosi, the then-US House Speaker, to Chinese Taipei last year has been blamed for escalating tensions between the two nations. China criticized the visit as a provocative action that violated the widely recognized “One China” principle and was intended to incite separatist movements there.
