Mattis: U.S. relations with China stable
PARIS— Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said Monday that he doesn’t see the U.S. relationship with China worsening after a series of setbacks that officials said include canceling the Pentagon chief ’s planned visit to Beijing this month.
“There’s tension points in the relationship, but based on discussions coming out of New York last week and other things that we have coming up, we do not see it getting worse,” Mattis told reporters traveling with him to Paris. “We’ll sort this out.”
U.S. defense officials told The Associated Press on Monday that Mattis had dropped plans to visit China amid rising tensions between Beijing and Washington. They spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal planning.
Although the trip was never announced, Mattis had planned to visit Beijing in October for security talks with his Chinese counterpart as well as U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Pompeo’s Chinese counterpart.
The Pentagon has made no public statement about Mattis’ change of plans.
Relations between the U.S. and China have deteriorated, as escalating trade disputes and tariff hikes have been exacerbated by a newly announced U.S. military equipment sale to Taiwan and recent military operations.
In past years, military ties have been somewhat stable, but a series of events this year have roiled the waters.
At stake is President Donald Trump’s effort to enlist China’s help in persuading North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons. China, North Korea’s longtime ally, has tended to insulate the North from American pressure to disarm.