Key takeaways:
- The Pentagon announced that China has declined an invitation for its defense minister to meet with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on the sidelines of an annual international defense summit in Singapore.
- The U.S. has been seeking to restore high-level communications with Beijing as both sides signal a willingness to ease tensions.
- China has outlined limits to that conciliation over its issues with U.S. sanctions and what it sees as a broader effort to contain its rise.
The Pentagon announced late Monday that China has declined an invitation for its defense minister to meet with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on the sidelines of an annual international defense summit in Singapore later this week.
The invitation was extended in early May and was meant to be a step towards mending ties between the world’s two largest economies. The meeting was proposed to take place at the Shangri-La Dialogue, an annual security forum being held in Singapore from June 2 to 4.
The Pentagon press secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said that the People’s Republic of China informed the U.S. that they have declined the invitation for Secretary Austin to meet with PRC Minister of National Defense Li Shangfu.
The U.S. has been seeking to restore high-level communications with Beijing as both sides signal a willingness to ease tensions stoked by clashes over Taiwan, a Chinese spy balloon and Russia’s war in Ukraine. Secretary Austin met with Li’s predecessor on the sidelines of the summit last year, but Austin has not spoken with Li since he assumed his position in March 2023.
However, China has outlined limits to that conciliation over its issues with U.S. sanctions and what it sees as a broader effort to contain its rise. It remains to be seen if the two sides can come to an agreement on these issues and move forward with their relationship.
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