China calls for building confidence with the US

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 31 (KUNA) -- Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun on Friday called for building confidence with the United States of America and lauded the meeting that grouped the US and Chinese presidents on Thursday.
Minister Dong said Thursday's summit between US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, was successful "in providing strategic guidance for the development of the relations in the coming period." The Chinese defense minister made the statement as he emerged from a session with U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth on sidelines of the 19th ASEAN Defense Ministers Meeting, held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
He noted that the US and Chinese defense departments should take concrete actions to implement the consensus reached by the two heads of state, and work toward building a military-to-military relationship based on equality and respect, peaceful coexistence, and stable, positive development.
He also expressed hope Washington would honor its commitment not to seek to contain China and pursue conflict, take a clear stance against "Taiwan independence," and work with China to inject positive energy into regional and global peace and security.
Yesterday's Chinese-US summit was held amid mounting tensions in the South China Sea and Taiwan Strait, amid recurring military maneuvers by regional powers.
The meeting of the ASEAN countries' defense ministers was held as part of the bloc annual dialogue for boosting peace and stability in the Indian Ocean and the Pacific.
On Saturday, the event will witness the holding of the 12th meeting of the defense ministers of ASEAN Plus -- including China, India, the US, New Zealand, South Korea and Russia.
ASEAN, founded in 1967, currently group Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, Brunei, Dar es Salaam, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar and Timor-Leste. (end) aib.rk