“China Rejects U.S. Proposal for Defense Ministers’ Meeting in Singapore, Easing of Tension Not in Sight”

30.05.2023

The “Wall Street Journal” reported on the 29th that China rejected the United States’ request to propose a meeting between the defense ministers of the two countries in Singapore, and the easing of tension between the two countries has not yet seen the light of day.

(Deutsche Welle Chinese Website) The annual “Shangri-La Dialogue” (The Shangri-La Dialogue) will be held in Singapore this weekend (June 2-4).The United States is committed to promoting the meeting between the defense ministers of China and the United States, Li Shangfu and Lloyd Austin, in this forum. The US “Wall Street Journal” reported on Monday (May 29) that China rejected the US request for a meeting, and it is still difficult to warm up the relationship between the two sides.

In a statement to The Wall Street Journal, the Pentagon said China had formally rejected the U.S. invitation in early May, adding that the department believed open communications between the two militaries “can ensure that competition does not turn into conflict.” . The U.S. defense official also said China’s refusal was seen as an unusually blunt signal, given that such meetings have traditionally been facilitated hours in advance.

Before serving as China’s defense minister, Li Shangfu was the head of the Equipment Development Department of the Central Military Commission of the Communist Party of China. In 2018, he was sanctioned by the United States for assisting China in importing Russian weapons. The British “Financial Times” reported earlier this month that the Biden administration said it had no intention of lifting the sanctions. The US believes that the sanctions will not prevent Austin and Li Shangfu from meeting in a third country, but some people believe that it is almost impossible for China to agree to the talks under this circumstance. .

Some U.S. officials have warned that China’s refusal could raise concerns among U.S. Southeast Asian allies who have been open to the prospect that “the U.S.-China conflict can be decompressed in Singapore.”

Neither the Chinese embassy in Washington nor the White House immediately responded to The Journal’s request for comment.

The U.S. promotes the talks but is rejected?

U.S. Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Ely Ratner (Ely Ratner) said at an event last week at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a Washington think tank, that the U.S. had proposed that the U.S. Secretary of Defense or other military leaders could work with Calls, meetings or dialogues in China, but “encountered a lot of difficulties”.

Since February this year, the Sino-US relationsscouting balloon incidentAs tensions continued, Austin and Mark Milley, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, repeatedly requested to speak with Chinese counterparts, but were rejected by the Chinese side; US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s visit to China was also forced to be cancelled. or delay. Biden has repeatedly called for the need to ease relations between China and the United States, but was criticized by the Chinese government as “not sincere.”

earlier this month,White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan meets with Wang Yi, director of the Foreign Affairs Office of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, in Vienna; U.S. Secretary of CommerceGina Raimondo also met with Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao in WashingtonThis is the first cabinet-level meeting between China and the United States in Washington during the Biden administration.

These two meetings were originally regarded by the outside world as a sign of easing friction between China and the United States.Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang met with US Ambassador to Beijing Burns in Beijing in early May(Nicholas Burns), on the Taiwan issue, severely accused the United States of undermining the “hard-won positive momentum in US-China relations,” showing that there are still limits to easing tensions.

In this regard, Zack Cooper, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, a US think tank, told the Wall Street Journal that China did not want Austin and Li Shangfu to talk, but decided to meet other senior US officials. This seems to be a strategy. Choice: “China believes that they have the most leverage when dealing with officials responsible for economic issues. They therefore prioritize such activities over national security-related activities.”

(Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Reuters)

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