China refuses to negotiate with the US
The US Department of Defense announced that their offer to China to hold a meeting between the defense ministers of the two countries was rejected by the Beijing government.
China responded negatively to the Pentagon's offer to hold a meeting between the defense ministers.
According to Ihlas News Agency, the US Department of Defense (Pentagon) announced that China rejected the US offer to hold a meeting between the defense ministers of the two countries.
China rejected the US offer to hold a meeting between the defense ministers of the two countries on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, Ihlas News Agency reported.
"vernight, the PRC informed the US that they have declined our invitation for Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin to meet with Minister of National Defense Li Shangfu in Singapore this week," US Department of Defense (Pentagon) Spokesperson Brigadier General Patrick Ryder said.
Ryder emphasized the importance of maintaining open channels of communication between the militaries of the two countries to ensure that competition does not turn into conflict, Anadolu reported.
'CHINA IS MAKING EXCUSES'
A senior US defense official told the media that this is not the first time that China has rejected meeting offers from senior US officials. Describing the rejection of the latest meeting offer as "the latest in a series of excuses," the official said, "Since 2021, the PRC has declined or failed to respond to over a dozen requests from the Department of Defense for key leader engagements, multiple requests for standing dialogues, and nearly 10 working-level engagements."
US IMPOSED SANCTIONS ON Lİ
The US government sanctioned Li Shangfu in 2018 over China's purchase of Russian-made weapons. However, the Pentagon says the sanctions did not prevent Li from meeting with Austin.
Austin and his Chinese counterpart Li will attend the defense forum Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore next weekend.
Source: Ihlas News Agency - Anadolu Agency
