China denies U.S. warship port visit

China has denied a request for a U.S. Navy warship to visit the Chinese port city of Qingdao in recent days, a U.S. defense official told Reuters on Tuesday, at a time of tense ties between the world’s two largest economies.

The defense official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the destroyer was supposed to visit on Sunday but China denied the request prior to that.

U.S. military warships have occasionally made visits to China, most recently in 2017, the defense official said. The last time a U.S. Navy ship visited Qingdao was the destroyer Benfold in 2016.