WASHINGTON ¨C When the United States imposed sanctions on China¡¯s military this fall, China retaliated by canceling Defense Secretary Jim Mattis¡¯ plans to meet his counterpart in Beijing. But just days later, a Chinese general visited the Pentagon with a reassuring message: Beijing valued the importance of military ties between the two countries.
In the previously unreported visit, Huang Xueping arrived on Oct. 10 to see Mattis¡¯ aides, but the secretary briefly met him in the hallway with a message for Chinese Defense Minister Wei Fenghe. The two were still going to be at a security conference in Singapore later in October, and Mattis told Huang he looked forward to meeting Wei there, said Randall Schriver, the Pentagon¡¯s top Asia policy official.
Relations between the world¡¯s two largest economies have plumbed new depths under President Donald Trump amid a bitter trade war and disagreements over Taiwan, the South China Sea, and other geopolitical flash points.
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