China says sanctions against its defense chief among obstacles in military relations with US

ISTANBUL

China said Thursday that high-level military talks with the US face "difficulties and obstacles" with Washington maintaining sanctions against Chinese Defense Minister Gen. Li Shangfu.

"Beijing and Washington have maintained candid and effective communications through military and diplomatic channels. Nevertheless, there are indeed many difficulties and obstacles in the relationship," said China’s Defense Ministry spokesman Wu Qian during a news conference.

"Many of such difficulties and obstacles are caused by the US side," he added, pointing to US arms sales to Taipei and American aircraft and warship missions in the Taiwan Strait and South China Sea.

China considers Taiwan its "breakaway province" while Taipei has insisted on its independence since 1949.

"Moreover, the US has refused to remove unfair sanctions on the Chinese CMC (Central Military Commission) leader," Wu said, referring to the US imposing sanctions on the Chinese entity the Equipment Development Department and its director Li in 2018 for "engaging in significant transactions" with Russia.

In March, Beijing appointed Li as China’s defense chief. Later in June, China refused US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s request to meet Li on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore.

China's Defense Ministry blamed the US for “seriously undermining mutual trust.” At the same time, its embassy in Washington said the US should lift its "illegal unilateral sanctions" to create favorable conditions for dialogue.

After US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's unannounced trip to Taiwan last August, China suspended high-level military dialogue with Washington and vowed to impose further measures.

“The US side, when it is undermining China’s national interests, should have no illusions that the Chinese military would communicate like nothing happened,” Wu emphasized.

During his trip to Beijing in June, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken had urged China to restore military-to-military communications. Wu also stressed that while China-US military-to-military engagement “isn’t stopped,” the Chinese military “has every reason to take countermeasures.”

“It is absolutely vital that we have these kinds of communications, military-to-military. That imperative was only underscored by recent incidents we saw in the air and on the sea,” said Blinken.