On Sunday, Europe was seen as an important interlocutor between Beijing and the UK, Germany, and EU Security Policy Chiefs. They managed to meet China’s newly appointed Defense Minister Li Shangfu who would not go beyond a simple handshake with Lloyd Austin, his U.S. equivalent.

Li, who was appointed minister in March, also met with EU Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell and German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, as well as British Secretary of Defense Ben Wallace. These were his first bilateral contacts with European counterparts.

Beijing refused to meet Li with Austin because of Washington’s sanctions against the Chinese official. Li refused to meet with Canada’s Anita Anand as well, according to two Western diplomats who spoke to POLITICO. This was in response after reports that U.S. warships and Canadian warships had sailed together through the Taiwan Strait, a rare maneuver, which prompted the Chinese navy within 150 yards.

China instead agreed to allow Li to meet with the Europeans at the Asian Security Forum, despite the sometimes tense mood.

Pistorius, a German, was forced to raise a sensitive topic — China’s secret use of German fighter-jets pilots for training its own.

After the meeting in Singapore, Pistorius said to reporters: “I’ve made it clear that this policy must be immediately stopped.” He said that the Chinese Defense Minister had not denied hiring former German pilots but downplayed its importance, Reuters reported.

After the German magazine Spiegel published a piece on the topic around the time of the summit, the issue was brought to the forefront again. A diplomat who was briefed about the issue said that the Chinese responded saying Beijing “had no need” of German pilots as it had the capability to train its own pilots.

Borrell described the EU’s meeting with Li, as “constructive,” and stated in a Twitter that they discussed “common strategic issues, including Russia’s War against Ukraine, Taiwan and the South China Sea.” Borrell added that the EU was looking forward to “continue developing EU-China Relations based on Trust and Respect of International Law.”

Borrell’s message on social media struck a friendly tone only hours after Li made his Shangri-La debut with a warning to the U.S. The Chinese official also pledged to take Taiwan back without “fearing adversaries and no matter the cost.”

Li also criticised “extra-regional” countries for sending warships into the South China Sea to “try to stir up trouble.”

EU nations will also send ships to Indo-Pacific, in addition to the U.S. Pistorius, a Reuters reporter in Singapore, said that Germany would send two warships there next year. Dutch Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren told POLITICO her government will also send a vessel to Indo-Pacific region next year. However, the exact route is still to be determined.

In an interview given to POLITICO in Singapore and other media, Swedish Defense Minister Paljonson said that “we are concerned about the Chinese actions” in the Taiwan Strait, adding that Beijing “should cool down any type of belligerent behaviour.”