Signaling its anger over US dealings with Taiwan, China has blocked a port call by a US warship to Hong Kong and refused Tuesday to say whether Vice President Hu Jintao would go ahead with plans for a US visit.
The US Consulate said Tuesday that Beijing had rejected a request for an April 5-9 visit by the USS Curtis Wilbur, a guided missile destroyer belonging to the US Seventh Fleet based in Yokosuka, Japan.
"No reason was given for the disapproval," said Barbara Zigli, a US Consulate spokeswoman. She declined to speculate on China's motives.
The March 18 rejection came a day before the Chinese government accused Washington of committing a "series of erroneous acts" and spoiling the aura of good relations set during a February visit to Beijing by President Bush.
As often happens, the spat is over Taiwan. Beijing objected to a US decision to let Taiwan's "defense minister," Tang Yiau-ming, attend a private defense convention this month in St.Petersburg, Fla.
Since Hong Kong returned to Chinese mainland in 1997, Beijing has occasionally protested US actions by barring US warships from visiting Hong Kong, long a popular port of call.
Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zhang Qiyue said Tuesday that port calls by foreign warships and aircraft are approved on a "case-by-case basis."
(People’s Daily March 27, 2002)
