Mattis: US relations with China not worsening despite bumps
PARIS — Defence 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 cancelling the Pentagon chief’s planned visit to Beijing this month.
Mattis said the U.S. has to learn how to manage its relationship with the communist nation.
“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 travelling with him to Paris. “We’ll sort this out.”
U.S. defence 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.