China rejected the US offer to meet with the US and Chinese defense ministers, Lloyd Austin and Li Shangfu, in Singapore on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue security conference in early June, according to the news, citing the Pentagon press service. Wall Street Journal (WSJ).
According to the publication, Beijing informed Washington that it rejected an American proposal sent in early May for the two countries’ defense ministers to meet.
At the same time, the Pentagon claims it considers it important to maintain open channels of communication between the US and the Chinese military to prevent “competition from turning into conflict.”
Matthew Miller, previously spokesman for the US Department of State, ignores Li Shangfu, head of the Chinese Ministry of Defense, for the sake of his meeting with the head of the Pentagon, Lloyd Austin, or the question of lifting the sanctions of the country as a whole.
Miller made it clear that this decision applies to both the PRC Minister of Defense and the entire country as a whole. Meanwhile, Austin stated that he considers meeting Li Shangfu in person “critical”.