China's Defense Chief Prioritizes Europe, Offers Help in Ukraine Conflict.

China's new Defense Minister Li Shangfu refused to meet with his US counterpart, Lloyd Austin, due to personal sanctions against him, but did meet with European officials, including EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, and British Secretary for Defense Ben Wallace. The meetings were described as "constructive," but Pistorius raised the issue of China secretly employing German fighter-jet pilots to train its own. Li warned against the US and allies navigating too close to China and vowed to take back Taiwan without "fearing any adversaries, and regardless of the cost."