China Rejects U.S. Request for Meeting Between Defense Ministers

China has rejected a request from the United States for a meeting between the defense ministers of the two countries on the sidelines of an annual security forum in Singapore next week, according to the Wall Street Journal. The U.S. Department of Defense stated in a release to the newspaper that "last night, the People's Republic of China informed the United States of its rejection of the invitation made in early May for a meeting between Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Chinese National Defense Minister Li Shangfu in Singapore next week," noting that they "believe that open communication is the way to ensure that competition does not turn into conflict."