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In a statement to U.S. media Wall Street Journal, the Pentagon claimed that China turned down a request for a meeting between the countries’ defence chiefs at the upcoming Shangri-La Dialogue in 2023.
The Shangri-La Dialogue, a top-level security forum organised by the International Institute of Strategic Studies (IISS), will be held in Singapore from Jun. 2 to Jun. 4, 2023.
It was previously reported that U.S. Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin and his Chinese counterpart Li Shangfu might not meet due to existing sanctions imposed on the latter.
Both are expected to deliver speeches at the upcoming security forum.
No meeting
The Pentagon said on May 29, 2023, that China has formally informed them of the decision not to hold a meeting between the duo.
“Overnight, the People’s Republic of China informed the U.S. that they have declined our early May invitation for Secretary Austin to meet with PRC Minister of National Defense Li Shangfu in Singapore this week,” the Pentagon said.
“The Department believes strongly in the importance of maintaining open lines of military-to-military communication between Washington and Beijing to ensure that competition does not veer into conflict.”
China claims US not sincere
In a statement to WSJ, Liu Pengyu, Chinese embassy spokesman in Washington, said the U.S. was “seeking to suppress China through all possible means and continue imposing sanctions on Chinese officials, institutions and companies.”
He added, “Is there any sincerity in and significance of any communication like this?”
U.S. officials felt that China's turning down of the proposal was unusually blunt, a change from previous years in which meetings still managed to be agreed upon at the very last minute, according to WSJ.
This included the one between Austin and Li’s predecessor Wei Fenghe, which was decided just hours before they met.
The U.S. claimed that they had been trying to secure a meeting between Austin and Li for weeks and remains open to a meeting between lower-level officials in Singapore.
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Top images via Getty - AFP & Chip Somodevilla