Chinese Military Ignoring Biden Pentagon’s Requests for Talks
Kristina Wong 26 May 2021
The Chinese military has been ignoring requests from the Biden Pentagon for its top leaders to speak for the first time since it took office in what appears to be a diplomatic stand-off, according to reports.
A Financial Times report on Friday revealed Beijing has “rebuffed” three requests from the Pentagon for talks between China’s top military officer, General Xu Qiliang, and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. Xu is the vice-chair of the Central Military commission and a politburo member.
Chinese state-run news outlet Global Times then reported on Monday that the U.S. report was “untrue” and accused Austin of being “unprofessional and unfriendly.” The report claimed that China had “sent a congratulatory letter through military diplomatic channels” to Austin after he became defense secretary and proposed that the two countries’ defense chiefs “hold talks at a proper time,” and that the U.S. never responded to the letter, according to a “source.”
The report said the Pentagon then requested talks with another Chinese military leader, which it called “unprofessional and unfriendly” and “irresponsible.” The report said:
…the US turned a blind eye to China’s goodwill and sincerity, disregarded diplomatic protocol and international common practice and did not respond to China’s congratulatory letter, but then requested to talk to another Chinese military leader in the Central Military Commission, which is a move deemed unprofessional and unfriendly, the source said.
The US is now releasing inaccurate information through the press and is attempting to shift the blame to China for the fact that no high-level military talks have taken place so far. This is irresponsible, the source said.
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https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2021/05/26/chinese-military-ignoring-biden-pentagons-requests-for-talks/
