China says US must ‘correct its mistaken actions’ before top defence chiefs can meet
- The US had proposed a meeting of defence chiefs Li Shangfu and Lloyd Austin at the Shangri-La Dialogue next week in Singapore
- Rebuff by sanctioned defence minister comes as high-level bilateral talks appear to be making progress
Washington must “correct its mistaken actions” to resume military dialogue, Beijing said in response to a US claim that China declined a meeting between top military leaders.
The remarks from China’s foreign ministry came after the Pentagon said on Monday that China rejected an invitation for Chinese Defence Minister Li Shangfu to meet his US counterpart Lloyd Austin at the coming Shangri-La Dialogue defence summit, which is set to take place from June 2 to June 4 in Singapore.
Resuming talks that were “faced with difficulties” would require an effort by Washington to create a “necessary atmosphere and conditions”, foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said on Tuesday.
“Washington should earnestly respect the sovereignty, security and interests of China and immediately correct its mistaken actions to show its sincerity [to talk],” she said.
The US should also “take concrete actions to create necessary conditions for conversation between both sides”, Mao added in response to a question on whether the refusal was due to the US sanctions.
