US, Chinese defense chiefs speak briefly after Beijing rejected meeting request 

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Friday spoke briefly with his Chinese counterpart on the sidelines of the annual Shangri-La Dialogue Asian security summit in Singapore, a surprise exchange that comes after Beijing refused a request for the two to meet. 

Austin and Chinese Minister of National Defense Li Shangfu “spoke briefly at tonight’s opening dinner,” Pentagon press secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said in a statement. 

“The two leaders shook hands, but did not have a substantive exchange,” he added. 

Beijing earlier informed Washington it declined an invitation for Austin and Li to speak at the summit, a rebuff the Pentagon chief called “unfortunate.” 

The United States for months has attempted to broker a conversation between Austin and Li, who was named China’s defense minister in March.  

Tensions between the countries have been simmering, however, over a range of issues, including trade disputes, Taiwan’s independence and the U.S. military’s shootdown of a Chinese spy balloon that flew over the country this winter.   

Li has also been the target of U.S. sanctions since 2018 over his purchase of warplanes and equipment from Rosoboronexport, a top Russian defense firm.  

Despite the limited face time between Austin and Li on Friday, the Pentagon “believes in maintaining open lines of military-to-military communication with the [People’s Republic of China] — and will continue to seek meaningful military-to-military discussions at multiple levels to responsibly manage the relationship,” Ryder said. 

Austin is traveling in Asia this week, with an earlier stop in Japan and a scheduled stop in India after Singapore.