China insists conflict with US would spell ‘unbearable disaster’ for world

Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu has warned attendees at Asia’s top security summit that a confrontation between China and the United States would inflict the world with an “unbearable disaster.”

“It is undeniable that a severe conflict or confrontation between China and the US will be an unbearable disaster for the world,” Li declared on Sunday while addressing the the Shangri-La Dialogue summit in Singapore

“China and the US have different systems …, however, this should not keep the two sides from seeking common ground and common interests to grow bilateral ties and deepen cooperation,” he added, however, signaling Beijing's willingness to resume military talks with Washington under improved circumstances.

In his first international address since becoming China’s defense minister in March, Li further slammed what the US depicts as freedom-of-navigation patrols regularly conducted near Chinese waters by American and allied naval forces, describing the provocative maneuvers  as “a pretext to exercise hegemony of navigation” in efforts to “muddy the waters to rake in profits.”

His remarks came after US and Canadian warships sailed through the Taiwan Strait on Friday, in a rare joint mission in the sensitive waterway at a time of heightened tensions between Beijing and Washington over Chinese-claimed island territory of Taiwan.

In his speech, Li also reiterated Beijing’s position on Taiwan, describing the self-ruled island as the “core of our core interests,” insisting that it would never hesitate to defend China’s “legitimate rights and interests.”

China’s defense minister also warned that Washington’s pursuance of “NATO-like” military alliances in the Asia-Pacific could undermine regional peace and stability and lead to severe conflict and confrontation.

US urges China talks to avoid conflict, then sends warship to Taiwan Strait

The US military chief reiterates the need for dialogue with his Chinese counterpart, but China rebukes the gesture in the face of persisting "provocations".

Ties between Washington and Beijing remain strained over a range of issues, including US non-adherence to the internationally-confirmed “One China” principle, trade wars, territorial disputes in the South and East China Seas, and US President Joe Biden’s restrictions on semiconductor chip exports, among other issues.

Meanwhile, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has called on Beijing to take part in top-level talks to avoid conflict, insisting that dialogue between the two countries was “essential.”

China, however, has snubbed persisting US pleas for talks between the two countries' military chiefs in light of Washington's imposition of sanctions on Beijing's defense minister for his role in purchasing Russian military hardware and amid intensifying tensions between the two powers.

Following Li's speech, retired veteran Chinese diplomat Cui Tiankai called on the US to ease its provocative military deployments close to Chinese waters in an act of “good faith” if high-level defense talks between the two countries are to resume.

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