Beijing has rebuffed the Pentagon’s requests for talks between China’s top officer and the new US defence secretary, complicating bilateral relations at a time of heightened tensions between the world’s two most powerful militaries.
Lloyd Austin, US defence secretary, has made three requests to speak to General Xu Qiliang, vice-chair of the Central Military Commission and a politburo member who is China’s most senior military officer. But China has refused to engage, according to three people briefed on the impasse.
US officials have said that they do not want to hold high-level meetings with China just for the sake of it, particularly after the countries’ top foreign policy officials engaged in a public diplomatic spat in Alaska in March.
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