The United States does not view sanctions against the Chinese military leadership as a stumbling block in maintaining contacts between the two countries' defense departments, calling Beijing's unwillingness to engage in such contacts "a political decision," US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told American news channel on Sunday.
"Those sanctions don't prevent the [Chinese Defense] minister [Li Shangfu] from engaging or us engaging with him… it is a political decision, in effect, for China to decide whether or not he should be engaging," Blinken told the broadcaster.
He went on to say that Washington "made very clear" to Beijing that maintaining bilateral military-to-military contacts was "a responsibility" to avoid any miscalculations and wrong perceptions, according to the broadcaster.
"So, we'll see where China comes out on this," Blinken added, as quoted by the broadcaster.
Earlier, Pentagon spokesperson Pat Ryder said that there were no obstacles preventing open communication between the United States and China despite rising tensions between the countries.