China has denied a request for a US Navy warship to visit the Chinese port city of Qingdao in recent days, a US defence official said, at a time of tense ties between the world's two largest economies, Aljazeera reports.
The defense official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told Reuters in an exclusive interview on Tuesday that the destroyer was supposed to visit on Sunday but China denied the request prior to that.
This marks at least the second time China has denied a request by the United States this month, having earlier rejected a request for two US Navy ships to visit Hong Kong, as the political crisis in the former British colony deepened.
US military warships have occasionally made visits to China, most recently in 2017, the defence official said. The last US Navy ship to visit Qingdao was the destroyer Benfold in 2016.
Asked why the US request was denied, the US official said the question should be directed to Beijing.
China's defence ministry, however, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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