MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 23rd July, 2023) The United States does not view sanctions against the Chinese military leadership as a stumbling block in maintaining contacts between the two countries' defense departments, calling Beijing's unwillingness to engage in such contacts "a political decision," US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told CNN on Sunday.
"Those sanctions don't prevent the (Chinese Defense) minister (Li Shangfu) from engaging or us engaging with him... it is a political decision, in effect, for China to decide whether or not he should be engaging," Blinken told the broadcaster.
He went on to say that Washington "made very clear" to Beijing that maintaining bilateral military-to-military contacts was "a responsibility" to avoid any miscalculations and wrong perceptions, according to CNN.
"So, we'll see where China comes out on this," Blinken added, as quoted by the broadcaster.
In June, a spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington said that the United States should lift its unilateral sanctions on China to revive military-to-military contacts and that Beijing never rejected communication with the United States. Pentagon spokesperson Pat Ryder said that there were no obstacles preventing open communication between the United States and China despite rising tensions between the countries.
