A Chinese embassy official in the United States called for the lifting of sanctions imposed on Beijing to reopen high-level military talks between the two nations. Liu Pengyu, the spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in Washington, stated in a press conference, according to Bloomberg, "The US side knows the reasons for the difficulties in its military relations with China. It has already imposed unilateral sanctions on China." Liu added, "These obstacles must be removed before any exchanges, and cooperation between the two countries can occur."
Earlier this month, Chinese President Xi Jinping declined an offer from Secretary of State Antony Blinken to establish a crisis communications line between the two countries during his visit to Beijing. While it was not immediately clear which sanctions Liu was referring to in Wednesday's briefing, Chinese officials had previously pointed to sanctions against Chinese National Defense Minister Li Shangfu for his refusal to engage with Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. Li has been the target of US sanctions since 2018 due to his purchase of military aircraft and equipment from a Russian defense company.
The United States has repeatedly pushed for "open lines of military communication" amid increasingly strained relations with China over issues such as trade, Taiwan's independence, and the Chinese spy balloon that traversed US airspace earlier this year.
