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China’s military
ChinaMilitary

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

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PLA Lieutenant General He Lei is one of two Chinese military officials known to have spoken with members of the US delegation at the Xiangshan Forum in Beijing. Photo: SCMP/ Jack Lau
Jack Lauin BeijingandMinnie Chanin Beijing
The Pentagon missed a “good opportunity” to send US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin to the Beijing Xiangshan Forum, where he could have met top brass of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and resumed long-stalled dialogues between senior military officials, a Chinese lieutenant general has said.
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“Does he really want to meet senior Chinese officials? If he genuinely wanted to make contact, then he should have come,” He Lei, former vice-president of the PLA Academy of Military Sciences, told the Post on the sidelines of the security conference on Tuesday.

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.

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.

Foreign defence chiefs met General Zhang Youxia and General He Weidong – two vice-chairmen of the PLA’s all-powerful Central Military Commission, which Xi chairs – on the sidelines of the forum, held from Saturday to Tuesday in the Chinese capital.
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The two CMC vice-chairmen, both members of the Communist Party’s Politburo, are senior in rank to the Chinese defence minister – a position that has been vacant since Li Shangfu was sacked by China’s top legislative body last week.
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