 China's actions could lead to war between the United States and China. Within hours of an US Air Force F-22 downing a giant Chinese balloon that had crossed the United States, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin reached out to his Chinese counterpart via a special crisis line aiming for a quick general-to-general talk that could explain things and ease tensions. But Austin's efforts fell flat and Chinese Defense Minister Wei Fang He declined to get on the line. The Pentagon says China's defense ministry says it refused the call from Austin after the balloon was shot down because the US had not created the proper atmosphere for dialogue and exchange. The US action had seriously violated international norms and set a pernicious precedent. A ministry spokesperson was quoted as saying in a statement, it's been an experience that's frustrated US commanders for decades when it comes to getting their Chinese counterparts on a phone or video line as some flaring crisis is sending tensions between the two nations climbing. From Americans' perspective, the lack of the kind of reliable crisis communications that helped get the US and Soviet Union through the Cold War without an armed nuclear exchange is raising the dangers of the US-China relations now at a time when China's military strength is growing and tensions with the US are on the rise. Without that ability for generals in opposing capitals to clear things up in a hurry, Americans worry that misunderstandings, false reports or accidental collisions could cause a minor confrontation to spiral into greater hostilities. And it's not about any technical shortfall with the communication equipment, said Bonnie Glazer, Managing Director of Indo-Pacific Studies at the German Martial Fund, Hinkank. The issue is a fundamental disparity in the way China and the US view the value and purpose of military to military hotlines. According to Associated Press, US military leaders, faith in Washington to Beijing hotlines as a way to diffuse flare-ups with China's military has been butting up against a sharply different take. A Chinese political system that runs on slow, deliberative consultation by political leaders and makes no room for individually directed real-time talk between rival generals. And Chinese leaders are suspicious of the whole US notion of a hotline. They see it as an American channel for talking their way out of blowback for a US provocation. That's really dangerous. Assistant Secretary for Defense Eli Ratner said Thursday on the difficulty of military to military crisis communications with China when Democratic Senator Jeff Merkley pressed him about China's latest re-book on Beijing's and Washington's hotline setup. US generals are persisting in their efforts to open more lines of communication with China counterparts. The defense official said testifying before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. And unfortunately to date, the PLA is not answering that call. Ratner said, referring to China's People's Liberation Army, Ratner accused China of using vital channels of communication simply as a blunter messaging tool, shutting them down or opening them up again to underscore China's displeasure or pleasure. In Beijing, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning referred questions about Wei's refusal to take Austin's call to the defense ministry.