China, U.S. to expand military ties

Fang Fenghui, chief of General Staff of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, met with U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Tony Blinken on Thursday in Beijing, pledging to jointly advance the new type of military relationship between the two countries.

Fang said Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Barack Obama made clear the right direction of the development of bilateral ties in their meeting in late September.

Fang said the two sides need to make joint efforts to implement well the consensus reached by the two leaders on the new model of major-country relations, which is based on mutual respect and win-win cooperation, and further advance the new type of military relationship between China and the U.S.

In a bid to lay a solid foundation for healthy Sino-U.S. military relations, Fang called for the two countries to seek common ground while effectively managing differences, read each other's strategic intentions correctly and deepen cooperation.

Blinken said, in recent years, the United States and China have strengthened mutual trust and the U.S. is ready to work with China to advance collaboration and exchanges on areas including anti-piracy and peace-keeping. Endi