United States called off top security talks, China says
Annual meeting set down for this month postponed as trade war rages and navies have near miss in South China Sea
A high-level security dialogue between China and the United States was postponed at the request of Washington, Beijing said on Tuesday as bilateral tensions rise on various fronts, from trade to the military.
The annual diplomatic and security dialogue, which was to include US Defence Secretary James Mattis and China’s Defence Minister Wei Fenghe, was scheduled “in principle” for mid-October, Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said on a statement on the ministry’s website.
“The US side recently expressed its wishes to postpone the dialogue,” Hua said, adding the two sides would continue to “maintain communication” over the talks.
The statement came after media reports suggested that China had cancelled the annual meeting.
The New York Times quoted an unnamed American official as saying that China told the administration of US President Donald Trump on Friday that a senior military official would not be meeting Mattis.
Relations between Beijing and Washington have dropped to new lows as the trade war has escalated.
The two powers have also become increasingly confrontational on the military front, particularly in the disputed South China Sea.