Xi: China won’t give up an inch of territory
Stance is steadfast on sovereignty, says Prez
China is committed to peace and will never pursue expansionism but it will not give up an “inch” of territory, President Xi Jinping told visiting US defence secretary James Mattis during a meeting in Beijing.
Mattis is in Beijing as tensions between the two countries mount over a looming trade war and China’s assertive claims on territorial rights in the dispute-ridden South China Sea.
“Our stance is steadfast and clear-cut when it comes to China's sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Xi was quoted as saying by official Xinhua news agency. “Any inch of territory passed down from ancestors cannot be lost while we want nothing from others.
“What is other people’s, we do not want at all,” Xi added.
Beijing claims nearly the entire South China Sea and is fighting counter-claims by many of its maritime neighbours. In 2016, Beijing ignored a ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, which shot down its claims over the South China Sea.
China is building a “great modern socialist country” but it will stay on the path of peaceful development, Xi said, adding: “China will neither pursue the path of expansionism and colonialism, nor cause chaos to the world.”
Mattis told Xi that the US “attaches great importance to relations between the two countries and the two militaries, and military ties play a vital role in the bilateral relations”.
He added, “Guided by consensus reached by heads of state of the two countries, the US is willing to strengthen strategic communication, expand mutually beneficial cooperation, manage and control differences and risks, and prevent conflicts and confrontations, so as to enable military relations to be a constructive factor in promoting the development of bilateral ties.”
The two countries have been locked in a tit-for-tat battle of imposing import duties in recent months. China’s defence ministry, though, praised Mattis’s visit and said defence minister Wei Fenghe will go to Washington this year. The two countries, it said, had reached an “important consensus” on mutual trust, further exchanges, cooperation, and managing and controlling risks and challenges.