According to a report by the Financial Times, Beijing said earlier this month that high-level defence talks were unlikely unless the US was ready to remove sanctions it had placed on Li, a move Washington later said was not “under negotiation”.
Li has been under US sanctions since 2018 for his alleged role in the transfer of Su-35 fighter jets and S-200 air defence missile systems to China from Russia.
Ratner said that while the US was “aware” of China’s expectations, it was not an adequate justification for shutting off dialogue.
“What is indisputable is that those [sanctions] have no legal or technical bearing on whether or not General Li is able to meet with Secretary Austin in Shangri-La,” Ratner said. “So that is not the prohibition and frankly the ball is in their court at this point.”
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