U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin told a Senate panel on May 11 that he has had no contact with the Peoples Republic of China’s (PRC) new defense minister despite repeated attempts to introduce himself.
Austin told the Senate Appropriations Committee’s Defense Subcommittee that he had several face-to-face sit-downs with former PRC Defense Minister Gen. Wei Fenghe but attempts to contact Gen. Li Shangfu, who assumed the post in March, have been rebuffed.
“I have reached out to my counterpart on a number of different occasions,” he said, noting he has sent Li Shangfu a letter and is awaiting a response….