London. May 11. INTERFAX - China refused the US offer to organize a meeting of the defense ministers of the two countries, Li Shangfu and Lloyd Austin, using the joint participation of the two ministers in the "Shangri-La Dialogue" in Singapore in early June, the Financial Times reported, heading the article "China poured a tub of cold water on the proposal for a meeting."
"China has informed the United States that the likelihood of a meeting of the two countries' defense ministers at a security forum in Singapore is low due to a dispute over sanctions - the last obstacle to a high-level dialogue between the two powers," the newspaper writes.
The Pentagon has said it wants to maintain "open lines of communication" with Chinese military leaders, blaming China for the impasse.
"It was the decision of the People's Republic of China to ignore, reject or cancel numerous US requests for high-level communication," the statement said.
Li Shangfu is under US sanctions due to the fact that during the period when he headed the Department of Troop Training and Supply of the Central Military Council of the People's Republic of China, China purchased Su-35 aircraft and equipment for S-400 anti-aircraft missile systems from Russia.
Observers note that the administration of President Joe Biden shows a clear interest in resuming military contacts between the two countries, which were interrupted after the United States shot down a Chinese balloon over its territory in February 2023.
After that, China rejected several attempts by Austin and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the US Armed Forces, Mark Milley, to contact their Chinese colleagues by phone, the newspaper recalls.
Further cooling of relations between the two countries followed a meeting in the United States of the Speaker of the House of Representatives of the American Congress Kevin McCarthy with the head of the Taiwanese administration Tsai Ing-wen.
