China defence chief Li Shangfu made strong debut at Shangri-La Dialogue but one key meeting got away, analysts say
- Li proves to be ‘a tough military diplomat’ with a number of wins, but stops short of landing talks with US counterpart
- The three-day event marked minister’s first public speech on the international stage since his appointment to the role in March
The former head of the People’s Liberation Army’s equipment department – who remains under US sanctions – showed himself to be “a tough military diplomat”, with his speech and in his rhetoric when engaging with his foreign counterparts, experts said.
Li, 65, also displayed his humble side during the Q&A session after his speech. When asked by forum guests what strategies and combat tactics the PLA had learned from the fierce and ongoing war in Ukraine, he said only that as a military diplomat he was not familiar with that area.
Li stopped short of landing a much-needed meeting with US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin during the three-day event, which could have “serious consequences”, they said.
In a bilateral meeting on Saturday, German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius told Li that Berlin did not want to see Beijing hiring its retired pilots to train their PLA counterparts.