Source: Xinhua

12-11-2007 11:28

Senior Chinese and U.S. military officials met at the Pentagon on Monday for the 9th vice-ministerial level defense consultations between the two countries.

At the consultations, the two sides had an in-depth and candid exchange of views on the relationships between the two countries and two armies, the current international and regional situations, as well as other issues of common concern.

The consultations were co-chaired by Ma Xiaotian, deputy chief of the General Staff of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, and U.S. Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Eric Edelman.

China and the United States are each other's stakeholders and constructive partners, and the relations between the two armies are an important component of the overall bilateral relationship, Ma said.

Bilateral military ties have shown a momentum for continued development in recent years, thanks to the efforts of both sides, Ma said.

Bilateral cooperation in such new areas as military law, military archives and prevention of epidemic diseases has also been expanded, Ma said.

Edelman agreed and said progress has been made in military exchanges and cooperation between the two armies since the beginning of this year.

However, Ma noted that there are still some problems standing in the way of further development of China-U.S. military ties and one of them is the U.S. National Defense Authorization Act in Fiscal Year 2000, which limits military exchanges between the two sides.

Ma urged the U.S. side to take concrete actions to stop its official contacts and military links with the Taiwan authorities and stop selling advanced weapons to Taiwan so as to avoid any damage to Sino-U.S. relations.

Edelman said the United States will stick to its obligations in the three Joint Communiques between the two countries, uphold the one-China policy and oppose unilateral changes to the status quo of the Taiwan Strait.

Edelman also reiterated Washington's opposition to the push by the Taiwan authorities for a referendum on U.N. membership.

The Chinese delegation arrived here on Saturday for the defense consultations, the 9th since the two sides agreed to meet for defense and security issues in 1997.

 

Editor:Xiong Qu