Editor
BEIJING/HANOI: Chinese defence minister Li Shangfu abruptly pulled out of a meeting with Vietnamese defence leaders last week, three officials with direct knowledge of the matter said, amid questions about his more than two-weeks-long absence from public view. Li, 65, was due to attend an annual gathering on defence cooperation hosted by Vietnam on its border with China on September 7-8 but the meeting was postponed after Beijing told Hanoi days before the event that the minister had a…
