Lloyd Austin’s absence at Xiangshan Forum a ‘missed opportunity’ for Pentagon, says Chinese general
- US defence secretary could have met top PLA brass – and maybe even President Xi Jinping – at security conference, says Lieutenant General He Lei
- Washington frequently complains about Beijing’s refusal to engage in long-stalled dialogues between senior military officials
Had Austin attended, he “certainly would have met a leader who ranks higher than a defence minister”, He said, adding that President Xi Jinping himself would “probably” have received him.
Why Xiangshan Forum could be ‘useful opportunity’ for US-China military ties
Beijing has appeared more generous lately when receiving American officials ahead of Xi’s possible visit to California to attend the Apec leaders’ meeting in November.
Xi met California Governor Gavin Newsom last week and received a congressional delegation led by the US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer earlier this month, despite the fact that they are not counterparts to the Chinese leader.
The last meeting between a US defence chief and a CMC vice-chair took place in 2018, when former US defence secretary James Mattis visited Beijing.
Austin has requested such a meeting, but it has not been granted. The PLA has not granted his requests to meet the Chinese defence minister since March, when Li took office.
Beijing has repeatedly blamed “provocations” and negative comments from the US for the stalled high-level communications. Chinese defence ministry spokesman Senior Colonel Wu Qian again called on Washington to “create favourable conditions” for the return to stable ties between the two militaries on Thursday.
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PLA will show ‘no mercy’ against Taiwan independence moves, top Chinese general says
There was minimal interaction between the US delegation and the Chinese side at the 10th Xiangshan Forum.
He said he met Xanthi Carras, the Pentagon’s principal director for China, Taiwan and Mongolia and head of the US delegation, on Monday after “bumping into her” at lunch.
“I told her that I am happy to see her and that she is welcomed as the representative of the defence department, regardless of her seniority, at a time when US-China military ties are being seriously tested,” He said.
It was one of two known interactions between Chinese military officials and the US delegation. Wu, the defence ministry spokesman, also had a brief chat with Carras.
The lieutenant general said he told her that he regretted that Austin did not come to Beijing and that he had lost a chance at speaking to the most senior PLA officials.
He said China had invited US defence department officials to the forum, though he did not know if Austin was personally invited. No US defence secretary has ever attended a Xiangshan Forum.
Carras ranks lower than the head of the US delegation sent to the conference in 2019, the last to be held in person before the Covid-19 pandemic. Washington sent Chad Sbragia, then the deputy assistant defence secretary for China, to attend that forum. Sbragia, who has since left government service, attended this year’s conference as a private citizen.
The US has long complained about China’s refusal to engage in senior military dialogues.
China will host Xiangshan Forum, but no word on missing defence chief
He, the Chinese military official, said that in his Monday encounter with Carras, he expressed his doubts over Austin’s intentions to engage with top PLA officials.
“I asked, is this wish to meet senior military officials genuine? Was it real or fake?” He said.
He said they were both hopeful Xi and US counterpart Joe Biden would meet on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in November.
He said he later saw Carras again at a lift lobby, where he shook her hand and gave her an embroidered sleeve patch of the PLA Academy of Military Sciences as a souvenir. “She was very happy,” he said.
He has attended the Xiangshan Forum five times since 2016 and has represented the PLA at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore five times. He said he gave the same patch to Austin’s predecessor, James Mattis, when they met at the Singapore security conference in 2018.
He said he explained to Carras that the patch’s shieldlike shape represented the PLA’s strategy of defence and that the two olive branches symbolised peace.
“The Chinese military is tasked with defending national sovereignty, security, developmental interests and the unification of the motherland,” He said of his message to Carras.
“After I finished explaining, I took out another patch and gave it to her. She was surprised,” He said. “I told her to give this to Austin at your convenience after you return home, to let Secretary Austin, too, understand the national defence policy of China’s military.”
US officials repeatedly declined to speak to the media at the Xiangshan Forum.
Launched in 2006, the annual conference is co-organised by the PLA’s Academy of Military Sciences and the China Institute for International Strategic Studies (CIISS), a Beijing-based think tank composed of retired PLA generals.
