Versions :<123456789Live

China Declines US Request for Defense Chiefs Meeting

Image copyright: Wikimedia Commons

The Spin

Pro-China narrative

The US seems to seriously believe that it can impose illegal unilateral sanctions against China on the one hand, while pretending to want to build a relationship of trust and communication on the other. This kind of paradoxical US diplomacy is an expression of internalized hegemonic thinking that no longer has a place in a multipolar world. Instead of its persistent and ill-intended attempts to contain China, Washington must take concrete steps to remove obstacles to sincere dialogue and back up its words with direct action.

Anti-China narrative

US sanctions against China do not rule out a meeting between the two defense ministers in Singapore, and this is far from the first time that Beijing has rejected invitations from senior US defense officials to engage in dialogue. Both facts illustrate that Beijing is only using the US-imposed sanctions as a pretext to refuse military communications and continue its policy of confrontation. If the PRC is serious about stabilizing security ties with the US and its openness to engage in bilateral dialogue, now is the time to prove it.

Metaculus Prediction


Go Deeper


Articles on this story

Sign Up for Our Free Newsletters
Sign Up for Our Free Newsletters

Sign Up!
Sign Up Now!