US, China defence chiefs 'shook hands but held no substantative exchange' in Singapore

The Pentagon said on Friday that US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin and his Chinese counterpart Li Shangfu spoke briefly in Singapore following Beijing’s rejection of a formal meeting with Washington.

Austin and other US officials have been working to shore up alliances and partnerships in Asia to counter China, but there have also been tentative signs the two sides are working to patch their relationship.

The US had reportedly invited China to hold discussions on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue, but Beijing declined the invitation.

Pentagon spokesman Brigadier General Pat Ryder said in a statement. “Austin and Li spoke briefly at tonight’s opening dinner of the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore. The two leaders shook hands, but did not have a substantive exchange.”

He added that the US believes in keeping an open line of communication “and will continue to seek meaningful military-to-military discussions at multiple levels to responsibly manage the relationship”.

Li’s relationship with the US is especially stale as the country imposed sanctions on him in 2018 for buying Russian weapons. Pentagon has however maintained that this does not prevent Austin from conducting official business with him.

A senior US defence official said it was good for the two to speak, but “a handshake at dinner is no substitute for sitting down and having a meaningful exchange.”

“The next time they see each other, it should be for serious and substantive dialogue — and Secretary Austin will have more to say about why this matters when he speaks at the Dialogue’s first plenary session tomorrow.”

Ties between Washington and Beijing are frayed over a number of issues including Taiwan, which China regards as its territory, and the shooting down of an alleged Chinese spy balloon that flew over the United States this year.

With inputs from AFP

Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,
India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.