China says October security talks postponed at US request

The Chinese foreign ministry said Tuesday that upcoming security talks with the U.S. have been postponed at the request of Washington.

The second meeting of the U.S. China Diplomatic and Security Dialogue was set to be held with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis. The first meeting took place in Washington last year.

{mossecondads}“China and the US previously agreed in principle to hold the Second Round of China-US Diplomatic and Security Dialogue in mid-October. The US side has recently expressed its intention to postpone the dialogue. The two sides will remain in contact on holding the dialogue,” spokeswoman Hua Chunying said in a statement posted to the ministry’s website. 

Washington and Beijing have recently feuded about an escalating trade war characterized by tit-for-tat tariffs, the U.S. sale of weapons to autonomous Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory, and military activity in the South China Sea. President Trump also accused China of meddling in the U.S. midterm elections in a speech at the United Nations last week.