Xi hopes China, US defense authorities lift barriers

BEIJING - Chinese Vice-President Xi Jinping on Wednesday expressed the hope that Chinese and US defense authorities can remove barriers and enhance mutual trust.

He voiced the hope when meeting with US Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta.

Through joint efforts, China-US military ties have maintained the momentum of development and improvement since the beginning of this year, Xi said, hoping for more exchanges and cooperation between the two defense authorities on the basis of respect, mutual trust, equity and mutual benefit.

Military relations constitute an important part of bilateral ties, Xi said, noting that bilateral relations have scored important achievements, with dialogue, contact and cooperation reaching new highs.

Chinese President Hu Jintao and his US counterpart Barack Obama have reached consensus on seeking to build a new type of relationship between major powers like China and the United States, Xi said, adding that as long as the two countries stick to the spirit enshrined in the three Sino-US joint communiques and bilateral joint statements, China and the United States will continue along the path of the new type of relationship.

Panetta said the US strategic rebalancing in the Asia-Pacific region is aimed at promoting regional stability, peace and prosperity, and developing a constructive relationship between the United States and China is a key condition to this end.

It's good to see that US-China state-to-state and military ties have seen positive progress in recent years, Panetta said, expressing hopes for enhancing dialogue and cooperation with China and building a strong relationship between the two major powers.

Panetta said the US side is concerned about the current situation in the East China Sea, and he listened carefully to China's introduction to the historical factors related to the Diaoyu Islands.

He said the United States takes no position in relevant territorial disputes, but the country calls on related parties to refrain from provoking actions while peacefully resolving the issue.

They also exchanged views on international and regional issues of common concern.