Chinese military welcomes communication, cooperation with US armed forces

BEIJING, Sept. 30 (Xinhua) -- China's Ministry of National Defense on Thursday expressed its willingness to communicate and cooperate with the U.S. armed forces and jointly address disputes, while at the same time rejecting coercion.

"We hope that the U.S. side can show courage and correct its mistakes," said Wu Qian, the ministry's spokesperson, when commenting on China-U.S. military relations at a press conference.

Wu confirmed that the Chinese and U.S. armed forces have maintained contact despite continuous provocations from the U.S. side and challenges in bilateral ties.

The principle behind China-U.S. military relations is to maintain China's sovereignty, dignity and core interests, he said, adding that the United States' problematic perception of itself, of China and the world is the reason why China-U.S. ties and military relations have slipped into a difficult situation.

China hopes that the two militaries can jointly figure out how to improve bilateral relations so as to benefit the people of the two countries and around the world, he said.