China Defense Minister to Attend Summit Amid Rising U.S. Tension
China Defense Minister to Attend Summit Amid Rising U.S. Tension
(Bloomberg) -- Chinese Defense Minister Wei Fenghe will address top diplomats at an upcoming summit in Singapore in a speech that could be pivotal amid rising tensions between the U.S. and China.
The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) announced the late addition Monday to a roster of ranking officials that includes U.S. Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan attending the three-day IISS Shangri-La Dialogue from May 31.
Wei is scheduled to deliver a speech on China’s place in the Indo-Pacific region on the final day of the conference and will take questions afterwards, while his American counterpart will speak a day earlier.
The U.S. and China are in the midst of delicate trade negotiations that hit a stumbling block last week after the Trump administration threatened to blacklist Chinese telecommunications conglomerate Huawei Technologies Co.
It is the first time China has sent its defense minister to the annual event since Liang Guanglie attended in 2011.
To contact the reporter on this story: Philip J. Heijmans in Singapore at pheijmans1@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Ruth Pollard at rpollard2@bloomberg.net, Joyce Koh
©2019 Bloomberg L.P.