The Chinese side three times refused to accept a phone call from the head of the Pentagon, Lloyd Austin, who, in violation of protocol, requested a conversation not with the Minister of Defense, but with a higher-ranking official. This was reported on May 26 by the South China Morning Post, citing military sources.
"A Chinese military source said that there was a misunderstanding when US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin requested a conversation with the Deputy Chairman of the Central Military Council, Xu Qiliang, thus insulting the Ministry of Defense," the newspaper reports.
According to the source, Austin's colleague from the Chinese side is Defense Minister Wei Fenghe, and not Xu Qiliang — the second person in the structure of the Central Military Commission, which is headed by Chinese President Xi Jinping himself.
The source noted that despite the fact that both officials report directly to Xi Jinping, according to diplomatic protocol, the Pentagon's interlocutor should be Defense Minister Wei Fenghe.
Experts interviewed by the South China Morning Post note that almost all intergovernmental and military channels of communication between China and the United States were suspended after bilateral talks in March this year in Alaska, which ended in a public scandal and an exchange of claims.
Some experts disagreed that Austin's request was a violation of diplomatic protocol. Zhu Feng, a professor at Nanjing University and an expert on international relations, said that the reason for the incident is the poor operation of communication channels.
"Content is more important than job titles. The parties should not be interested in the job titles of their partners, they should think about their powers, " the expert said.
On March 19, CCTV reported that at the talks in Anchorage (Alaska), the US authorities showed unfriendliness to the Chinese delegation. It was noted that in the opening speech, the US delegation "blamed" China's foreign and domestic policy, exceeded the agreed time limit, which violates diplomatic protocol. U.S. officials accused their Chinese counterparts of violating protocol during the talks.
