Washington: China “never intends to challenge the US” and appreciates its role maintaining peace in the Asia-Pacific region, People’s Liberation Army Chief of General Staff Chen Bingde said Wednesday.
While talking to the US military officers on Wednesday at National Defense University in Washington, Gen. Bingde said the Chinese military has improved very much in the past years, but there is still a big breach between China and the US militaries. China “welcomes a productive US role in maintaining and promoting peace stability and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region,” he said.
While responding a questing, General Bingde said there still “a 20-year gap” between China’s military and that of the western powers.
The Chinese Chief of General Staff also invited his counterpart, US Joint Chiefs Chairman Admiral Mike Mullen, to visit China. “I hope he visits China as soon as possible,” he said.
General Bingde said it was important to increase “strategic mutual trust through enhanced dialogues and communication, instead of being prone to suspicion.”
Both countries “share significant responsibilities for regional and global peace and stability,” he said, then quoted US President Barack Obama who said that the two countries are economically “indivisible.”
The Chinese general also said it was “imperative” that military to military relations be “based on mutual respect and mutual benefit.”
“The world does not need to worry about, let alone fear, China’s growth,” he said.
Gen. Bingde is on the first trip to the United States by China’s top-ranking officer in seven years.
Military relations between the two Veto powers countries have been strained and lagged behind diplomatic and trade ties, with Beijing objecting to the US arms sales to Taiwan while Washington has showed reservations about China’s military buildup.
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