China refuses to meet Pentagon Chief because of arms sales to Taiwan

By Alimat Aliyeva

Beijing rejected Washington's offer to organize a meeting of defense ministers at the end of November due to the U.S. sale of weapons to Taiwan, Azernews reports.

According to the report, Pentagon Chief Lloyd Austin had previously proposed holding talks with his Chinese counterpart, General Li Shangfu, on the sidelines of the ASEAN Plus defense ministers' meeting in Laos. However, Beijing declined the offer, citing the recent U.S. arms sale to Taiwan as the reason. As CNN notes, China often "cancels meetings and closes communication channels" to express its "dissatisfaction with the United States."
In October, the U.S. State Department approved a potential sale of the NASAMS air defense system and radar stations to Taiwan for approximately $2 billion.

On November 17, Chinese President Xi Jinping, in a meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden in Peru, stated that if the United States wants to preserve peace in the Taiwan Strait, it should approach the issue with caution and prudence, clearly oppose Taipei's independence, and support the peaceful reunification of China.