A senior State Department official arrived in Beijing on Sunday to discuss thorny issues between the two sides, as senior military officials from both countries exchanged criticism over their military moves in East Asia.
Speaking at the Shangri-La Security and Defence Dialogue, which concluded on Sunday in Singapore, Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu warned against establishing NATO-like military alliances in the Asia-Pacific region.
Li described "attempts to push for NATO-like alliances in the Asia-Pacific region as a way to hijack regional countries and amplify conflicts and confrontations."
The Chinese minister said that such alliances will plunge the region into a spiral of conflicts, stressing that the Asia-Pacific region needs open and comprehensive cooperation and not to gather in small groups, stressing that the tragedies of the two world wars should not be allowed to be repeated.
China's defence minister made a blunt hint at the alliances the United States has forged in the region, alliances with Australia at its core.
The most prominent of these alliances is the AUKUS alliance, which includes Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States, and was established in September 2021, as part of a direction by the administration of President Joe Biden to make Asia a top priority region at the strategic level.
The US administration says the alliance's goal is to strengthen cooperation and policing in the Pacific, but Beijing sees it only as an attempt to encircle it strategically and militarily.
Criticism and visit
The Pentagon denounced what it called the increasingly dangerous actions of the Chinese military in Asia.
Pentagon spokesman Pat Ryder said in remarks on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Forum that his country remains concerned about what he called the dangerous and provocative activities of the Chinese military in the region, including what happened in recent days.
In light of the escalating tension between Beijing and Washington, Daniel Kreitenbrinck, US assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, arrived in the Chinese capital on Sunday, as Washington seeks to strengthen communication with China.
The State Department said in a statement that during his visit, the official will discuss key issues in bilateral relations.
US Assistant Secretary of State Arrives in China to Discuss Thorny Relations between the Two Countries (French)
Assistant Secretary of State Sarah Perran is accompanied by the White House National Security Council's director for China and Taiwan. According to the Foreign Ministry, the Krittenbrink meetings in Beijing will begin on Monday, during which they will address human rights issues and continue to defend fundamental freedoms in China.
On Saturday, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin stressed during the "Shangri-La Dialogue" forum that dialogue between his country and China is necessary and will allow avoiding miscalculations that may lead to crisis or conflict, after Beijing refused to hold a formal meeting between him and his Chinese counterpart, adding that Beijing's reluctance to hold dialogue undermines efforts to maintain peace in the region.
Two Chinese military officers said their country wanted clear signals from Washington of a non-confrontational approach in Asia, including ending U.S. sanctions imposed on China's defense minister since 2018 before military talks resume.