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China calls US ‘irresponsible’ for suggesting Beijing cancelled security talks
Foreign ministry says US official ‘completely distorted the facts’ and it was Washington that wanted to postpone the meeting
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China’s foreign ministry criticised the United States for suggesting that Beijing was behind the cancellation of sensitive security talks planned for this month, underscoring the severity of trade tensions between the world’s two biggest economies.
Foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said in a statement late on Wednesday suggestions made by a US official that China had delayed the talks “completely distorted the facts, had a hidden motive and were extremely irresponsible”.
A senior US official told Reuters on Sunday that China had cancelled a security meeting with US Secretary of Defence James Mattis that had been planned for October.
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“China is extremely dissatisfied with this. The facts are that the United States a few days ago told China it hoped to postpone the second round of the China Diplomatic and Security Dialogue,” Hua said.
“We request related parties stop this sort of behaviour of making something out of nothing and spreading rumours,” she said.
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