China cancels meeting with US Secretary of Defense: "US knows exactly why"

Li Shangfu and Lloyd Austin: The meeting of the two ministers will not take place for the time being. © Itar-Tass/UPI Photo/Imago (Montage)

No "thaw": China cancels a meeting with US Secretary of Defense Austin. The reason is sanctions for arms deals with Russia.

Munich/Beijing – Just a few days ago, on the sidelines of the G7 summit, US President Joe Biden predicted that relations between his country and China would soon enter calmer waters. "I think we will soon see the beginning of a thaw," said the 80-year-old in Hiroshima, Japan.

There have indeed been some signs of this recently, such as a meeting between China's top diplomat Wang Yi and Biden's national security adviser Jake Sullivan in Vienna. Biden also declared that he wanted to leave behind the affair of the "stupid" alleged spy balloon from China, which was shot down by the US earlier this year. The farce had further worsened the already strained relations between the two superpowers.

Part of this new "détente" policy should be a meeting between US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and his Chinese counterpart, General Li Shangfu, at the end of this week. At the beginning of May, Washington had asked for a meeting between the two politicians on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Security Dialogue, which will take place from Friday to Sunday in Singapore. But nothing will come of it: As the Pentagon announced on Monday, China had "rejected" the invitation to a meeting.

China blames the US for the scandal

On Tuesday, China's Foreign Ministry blamed Washington for the diplomatic scandal. "The U.S. knows perfectly well why the military dialogue between China and the U.S. is encountering difficulties," spokeswoman Mao Ning said in Beijing. The US, according to Mao, should "immediately correct its wrong practices, show sincerity and create the necessary atmosphere and conditions for dialogue and communication between the two militaries."

The background to Beijing's furor is sanctions imposed by the United States against Li in 2018. At the time, the current Secretary of Defense had been targeted by the United States as head of the People's Liberation Army's weapons development department because of arms deals with Russia. According to the Pentagon, these sanctions would not stand in the way of a meeting with Austin, but Beijing apparently sees things differently.

Taiwan, chips war, Ukraine: Tensions between China and US rise

"At a time of rising tensions between the U.S. and China, General Li's refusal to meet with his American counterpart will strain regional nerves even more," Reuters quoted security expert Ian Storey of the Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore as saying.

0

Also Read

Ukraine reports devastating "blow" to Russian occupiers – with 500 dead and injured

READ

"Mutiny comes quickly and radically": Ex-commander predicts Putin's overthrow by Prigozhin

READ

New Habeck hammer: penalties of up to one million euros are imminent

READ

Acts of sabotage in Crimea: Russia on the verge of losing control – Putin worried

READ

U.S. surprised by its own Patriot system: Ukraine baffles Pentagon

READ

Fancy a voyage of discovery?

My Area

Tensions between the two countries have recently been caused by US export restrictions on high-tech semiconductors to China, among other things. Beijing accuses the United States of maliciously obstructing the country's development. "Western countries, led by the United States, are engaged in a comprehensive containment and oppression of China, which is hindering the country's development to an unprecedented extent," state and party leader Xi Jinping said in March.

In the West, Beijing's tough stance in the Taiwan conflict is causing concern. China regards the democratically governed island state as part of its own territory and threatens to unite Taiwan with the mainland by force if necessary. China's pro-Russian stance on the Ukraine war is also exacerbating tensions. A "peace initiative" by China's special envoy Li Hui ended inconclusively at the end of last week. While Li campaigned in Europe for an end to the fighting, Xi Jinping met with Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin in Beijing and campaigned for a deepening of economic relations between the two countries. (sh)