Military Relationships

"I hope the two countries' defense departments and armed forces will remove obstacles and promote their ties with mutual respect and mutually beneficial cooperation," Vice President Xi Jinping told Mike Mullen, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff.

China and the United States announced the details of military exchanges to be conducted in the near future after a meeting between high-level military officials of both nations.

The two sides reaffirmed that a sound, stable and reliable military relationship is an important component of China-U.S. relations, according to the release. They pledged to formulate a principle conducive to the development of bilateral military relations and take other actions to promote the progress of the relations, the release said.  

"Only a country that respects others can gain respect from others," Chen Bingde, chief of the General Staff of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, said.

He added that the precondition for a stable military relationship between China and the United States is mutual respect, while the key is mutual trust, because without respect and trust, the development of ties will have no foundation.

The South China Sea Issue

"It's not a proper time for the United States to conduct military drills in the region with the Philippines and Vietnam," said Chen Bingde, Chief of the General Staff of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA), after holding talks with his visiting U.S. counterpart Mike Mullen.

Noting that China's main principle regarding South China Sea disputes is "shelving differences while seeking joint development," Chen stressed that "shelving differences" exists as a precondition to resolving the arguments.

Chen said although the United States has stated on many occasions that it has no intention of interfering with the disputes, it has continued to hold military drills in the region "time and again."

"If the United States truly wants peace and stability in the region, it should adjust the schedule of its military drills," Chen said.

Taiwan Issue

Guo Boxiong, vice chairman of the Central Military Commission, spoke highly of the current state of relations between the two armed forces, urging the U.S. side to strictly abide by the three Sino-U.S. joint communiques and to stop selling weapons to Taiwan. 

Dalai Lama Issue

"We are glad to witness the rebounce of bilateral military relations, which is hard-won and should be treasured," Chen Bingde said, warning that some U.S. politicians were deliberately stirring up trouble, for instance meeting with the Dalai Lama.