World News | US not considering lifting sanctions on Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu

washington [US]AsiaNews, May 24 (Xinhua) — The U.S. State Department announced Monday that the U.S. is not considering lifting existing sanctions against Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu, the Standard reported.

U.S. officials have said the sanctions on Li Shangfu would not prevent him from meeting with his American counterparts. In addition, U.S. officials said the sanctions would not be an obstacle in military talks between Beijing and Washington, Kenyan daily The Standard reported.

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Last week, U.S. President Joe Biden said he would not consider easing sanctions on Chinese officials to improve relations. He even said that the lifting of sanctions on China’s defense minister was “under negotiation”. A State Department spokesman, however, clarified that position on Monday.

Asked whether the U.S. was considering lifting sanctions on Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said on Monday, “No, we’re not. We — I’ll leave that. No, we’re not”

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In 2018, the United States imposed sanctions on Li Shangfu, head of the Chinese military’s equipment development department, under the Countering American Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA). The sanctions imposed on Li are related to China’s purchase of 10 SU-35 fighter jets in 2017 and equipment related to the S-400 surface-to-air missile system in 2018, the Standard newspaper reported.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Li Shangfu are expected to attend the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore. The Chinese military has not yet accepted the US proposal to meet the defense ministers. In Beijing, Chinese officials questioned the “sincerity” of U.S. outreach.

On Monday, a spokesman for China’s foreign ministry said China has consistently opposed unilateral sanctions and called on the United States to lift them, the Standard reported.

Mao Ning said that China has always firmly opposed illegal unilateral sanctions, and has made its solemn position clear to the United States. The United States should immediately lift the sanctions, remove obstacles with practical actions, and create a good atmosphere and conditions for dialogue and communication. Report according to standard.

Relations between the U.S. and China have become increasingly tense in recent months over security, trade and technology issues, Taiwan and the South China Sea, the Standard reported. Chinese officials have expressed a willingness to stabilize relations with the United States. But they also demanded that the U.S. stop harming China’s interests by strengthening ties with Taiwan and imposing technological restrictions on China. After Pelosi, then Speaker of the US House of Representatives, visited Taiwan in August, US-China relations were once tense. (Arnie)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a Syndicated News feed, the content body may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)