20th Shangri-La Dialogue: Beijing seeks 'dialogue over confrontation'
(VOVWORLD) - Chinese Defence Minister Li Shangfu said on Sunday that conflict with the United States would be an "unbearable disaster" but that his country seeks dialogue over confrontation.
 Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu speaks at the 20th Shangri-La Dialogue, June 4, 2023. (Photo: VNA) |
At Asia's top security summit, the Shangri-La Dialogue, Li said the world was big enough for China and the US to grow together.
Li accused "some countries" of intensifying an arms race and intentionally interfering in other countries' internal affairs. He said that attempts to push for NATO-like alliances in the Asia-Pacific would plunge the region into a “whirlpool of disputes and conflicts."
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin rebuked China in a speech at the security meeting in Singapore on Saturday for refusing to hold military talks, leaving the superpowers deadlocked over their differences.
A senior Chinese military official hit back, saying the US was responsible for a breakdown in dialogue by ramping up sanctions on Chinese officials and destabilising the Asia-Pacific region with its military presence.
In a related development, US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Kritenbrink arrived in Beijing on Sunday with meetings planned for the coming week as Washington seeks to boost communication with China at a time of tense relations between the two countries.