A further hint of tension between the two countries is that China has turned down the United States’ proposal for their defence chiefs to meet at this weekend’s annual security gathering in Singapore.
“Overnight, the PRC informed the U.S. that they have declined our early May invitation for Secretary (Lloyd) Austin to meet with PRC Minister of National Defence Li Shangfu in Singapore,” the Pentagon stated in a statement to the Wall Street Journal, using the initials of China’s official name, the People’s Republic of China.
Because Li purchased combat aircraft and other equipment from Rosoboronexport, Russia’s primary arms exporter, he has been subject to U.S. penalties since 2018.
The Pentagon stated that it supported open dialogue “to ensure that competition does not veer into conflict.”
John Kirby, a spokesperson for the White House, stated last week that the Defence Department was considering setting up meetings between Austin and his Chinese counterpart, who was appointed defence minister in March.
Given the regional security challenges and economic conflicts that have thwarted ambitions for the two largest economies in the world to reengage, the potential of a meeting was carefully followed.
China’s foreign ministry said on Tuesday that Washington was to responsible for the decision and that it was “well aware” of the reasons for the absence of military support.
In a press conference, Mao Ning, a spokesman for the foreign ministry, advised reporters that the U.S. side should “immediately correct its wrong practises, show sincerity, and create the necessary atmosphere and conditions for dialogue and communication between the two militaries.”
In a meeting last week in Washington, D.C., that served as the first cabinet-level communication between the United States and China in months, U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao traded jabs on trade, investment, and export policy.
China’s decision to avoid Austin, according to security analyst Ian Storey of Singapore, does not augur well.
General Li’s unwillingness to meet with his American counterpart will irritate regional nerves even more at a time when U.S.-China tensions are growing, according to Storey.
Austin and Li will be in Singapore for the annual Shangri-la Dialogue, an unofficial gathering of defence officials and analysts that also serves as a venue for a number of side discussions, which begins on Friday.
Both parties anticipate holding one-on-one conferences with their regional counterparts.
Li, a member of the Central Military Commission, China’s top defence body under President Xi Jinping, is a veteran of the People’s Liberation Army modernization programme, according to security experts.
