China has denied a request to the U.S. Navy warships to visit the Chinese port city of Qingdao in recent days, U.S. defense official told reporters on Tuesday, at a time of tense ties between the world’s two largest economies.
This marks at least the second time that this month China refused a U.S. application, having previously accepted a two-U.S. application. Navy ships visiting Hong Kong as the former British colony’s political crisis deepened.
The defense official said the destroyer was expected to visit on Sunday, talking on the condition of anonymity, but China rejected the application before that.
U.S. military vessels have sometimes visited China, the defense official said most lately in 2017. The U.S. Last In 2016, the destroyer Benfold was the navy vessel to visit Qingdao.
The U.S. defense official said the issue should be addressed to Beijing when asked why the U.S. application was refused.
Speaking at a everyday media briefing in Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said he did not understand the scenario and referred questions to the army.
China’s Defense Ministry has not responded to a request for comment.
A trade war between the two largest economies in the globe has harmed worldwide development and raised market concerns that the global economy might fall into recession.
But on Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump raised hopes for an agreement that might de-escalate the tariff war.
China rejected a petition from the U.S. earlier this month. To visit Hong Kong, navy transportation dock ship Green Bay and guide-missile cruiser Lake Erie. The suggested visit would have taken place at a moment when anti-government protests in Hong Kong have posed the greatest challenge since President Xi Jinping took authority in 2012 to the leaders of the Communist Party of China. Authorities in Beijing have issued a definite warning that the violence can be subdued by forceful action.
According to a budget study published previously this year, China’s 2019 defense spending will increase by 7.5 percent from 2018, and its military expansion has raised concerns among neighbors and Western allies, especially as Beijing has become more assertive in territorial conflicts in the East and South China Seas and over Taiwan, a self-governed land that Beijing claims.
The U.S. military placed China, along with Russia, at the core of a fresh national defense strategy last year, shifting priorities after more than a century and a half concentrating on fighting Islamist militants.
