Xi, Dunford talk stability of region

Korean Peninsula, security topics as regional issues heat up

President Xi Jinping described the ups and downs of China-US ties by saying, “A rainbow appears after winds and tides”, and added the two sides should treat each other with sincerity and kindness, have closer contacts and properly tackle disagreements.

Xi made the comments on Thursday in a meeting with US Marine General Joseph Dunford, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Dunford, who arrived in Beijing on Monday night, is the first US senior military official to visit China since US President Donald Trump took office in January.

Xi told Dunford that the world’s two largest economies have major influence regionally and globally, and they bear key duties to secure world peace and stability and promote global development and prosperity.

A good handle of the developing ties matters to both peoples and has profound influence on the global strategic picture, he said.

Xi asked Dunford to relay his greeting to Trump, and said he welcomes Trump’s visit to China, expected before this year ends. Speaking of the relations between the two militaries, Xi said such a tie is a key part of and key stabilizing factor for China-US relations, and the militaries have made progress in dialogue, building trust and cooperation.

Dunford said that under the navigation of President Xi and President Trump, the military relationship between the two has scored a number of advances as it has matured.

Washington is committed to frank and professional dialogue with China regarding military affairs, expanding the scope of their exchanges and cooperation and managing and controlling risks, he said.

Dunford’s visit to China came amid tensions regarding the Korean Peninsula, and the situation there was a key item of his agenda.

On Thursday, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis stressed there is a credible threat of US military action against Pyongyang.

This followed comments from President Trump’s chief strategist Steve Bannon who said on Wednesday that there’s no military solution to the threat from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea because of the risk posed by its conventional forces arrayed against South Korea, the Associated Press reported.

In a meeting earlier on Thursday, Vice-Chairman Fan Changlong of China’s Central Military Commission told Dunford that China believes dialogue and reconciliation offer the only viable path toward resolving the peninsula’s issues, and “military means should not be an option”.