Urgent: Military-to-military ties vital to China-U.S. relations: Xi

Chinese President Xi Jinping said Friday that military-to-military ties are a vital component of China-U.S. relations and the two sides should maintain the momentum for high-level military exchanges.

Xi, paying his first state visit to the United States, made the remarks during talks with his U.S. counterpart Barack Obama.

He called on the two militaries to make better use of institutional dialogue and conduct more joint drills and training, saying China, at the invitation of the U.S. side, will attend the 2016 Rim of the Pacific multilateral naval drills and dispatch personnel to Seattle to participate in humanitarian aid and disaster relief rehearsal.

Before flying to the U.S. capital, Xi concluded a busy two-and-a-half-day stay in the West Coast technology and aviation hub of Seattle, where he put forward a four-point proposal on developing a new model of major-country relationship between China and the United States.

The Chinese president will be in New York from Sept. 26 to 28 for a series of summits and meetings marking the 70th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations. Endi