The ball is in Beijing's court?

World - US calls China 'not picking up the phone': Is the ball in Beijing's court? — Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu and US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.

The Pentagon complained on May 25 that the United States is keen to maintain open lines of communication with China in the military sphere to avoid misunderstandings both in peacetime and in times of crisis, but Beijing is refusing or not picking up the phone.

Deterrence strategy

Most recently, Beijing has yet to formally respond to a US request for a meeting between Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and his Chinese counterpart Li Shangfu on the sidelines of an upcoming forum in Singapore, Ely Ratner, US assistant secretary of defense for Indo- Pacific security affairs, said at an event hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington on May 25.

“Secretary Austin and the Department of Defense have made requests to meet with General Lee, and that request has not been responded to one way or another,” Ratner said. “The ball is in their court at this point.”

The US proposed a meeting between the two countries' defense ministers at the Shangri-La Dialogue to take place in Singapore on June 2-4.

Without directly responding to the US request, China has expressed concern about US sanctions imposed on Mr. Li since 2018 over his role in buying weapons from Russia. China argues that Mr. Li would not be on par with Mr. Austin if the sanctions remain in place, Bloomberg reported earlier.

Ratner reiterated the Pentagon’s position that the sanctions against Lee do not pose a legal obstacle to the meeting between the two defense ministers, adding that military-to-military relations are critical to managing future crises that could potentially escalate into military conflict.

“Again, the question for China is do we need to go through a major crisis before we take things seriously?” Mr. Ratner said.

World - US calls China 'not picking up the phone': Is the ball in Beijing's court? (Image 2). — This image provided by the US Navy shows sailors from Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group 2 recovering a high-altitude surveillance balloon off the coast of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, on February 5, 2023. Photo: NPR

According to the Pentagon official, the US strategy in the Indo-Pacific is a deterrence strategy aimed at making the cost of conflict in the Taiwan Strait too high for China, while ensuring that deterrence activities do not lead to escalation and are consistent with the needs and priorities of allies and partners.

It is this strategy that the US believes that a conflict across the Taiwan Strait is inevitable and imminent, because the costs to Beijing are too high at the moment. “And our job is to maintain the status quo,” Mr. Ratner said.

Bilateral negotiations

The US has recently sought to revive talks with top officials in China after relations soured in recent months, most notably after a suspected Chinese spy balloon flew through US airspace.

US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan met with China's top diplomat Wang Yi in Vienna, Austria, earlier this month.

More recently, Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao met with US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo in Washington on May 25.

“The two sides had candid and substantive discussions on issues related to the US-China trade relationship, including the overall environment in both countries for trade and investment as well as potential areas of cooperation,” the US Commerce Department said in a statement on May 25.

“Secretary Raimondo also raised concerns about a series of recent actions by Beijing against U.S. companies operating in China,” the statement added.

World - US calls China 'not picking up the phone': Is the ball in Beijing's court? (Image 3). — Representatives of US companies meet with Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao in Shanghai, May 22, 2023. Photo: SCMP

A statement from China's Ministry of Commerce said Mr. Wang raised key concerns about US policies toward China, including on semiconductors, export controls and foreign investment reviews.

Both sides have agreed to establish and maintain open channels of communication, with Ms Raimondo's office saying that would help “manage the relationship responsibly”.

China's Commerce Ministry said the communication would allow for exchanges on specific economic trade concerns and cooperation issues.

Mr. Wang is also expected to meet with US Trade Representative Katherine Tai on the sidelines of the APEC Trade Ministers' Meeting in Detroit that ends on May 26 .

Minh Duc (According to Bloomberg, Hindustan Times, Reuters)

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