China and U.S. hold 1st diplomatic & security dialogue

China and the United States held their inaugural diplomatic and security dialogue in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday. Both sides hailed a day of productive meetings and vowed to continue to expand cooperation in order to increase mutual trust and work toward a long-term risk reduction effort between the two militaries and governments.

China and the United States hold their inaugural diplomatic and security dialogue in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, June 21, 2017. [Photo: Xinhua]

The dialogue was established under the broader framework of the Comprehensive Dialogue that was agreed upon during the meetings between Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago, Florida in April. 

Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi co-chaired Wednesday's dialogue with U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Secretary of Defense James Mattis. Fang Fenghui, a member of China's Central Military Commission (CMC) and chief of the CMC Joint Staff Department, also participated in the dialogue.

Yang Jiechi said the China-U.S. relationship has already achieved tangible results, guided by the consensus reached between the two leaders. Therefore both sides should continue to work along those established principles to push forward bilateral relations.

At the dialogue, the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue stood out as a major focus. 

China reiterated its commitment to denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula and maintaining peace and stability there. China also called for an early resumption of dialogue on the issue, saying negotiations alone are the only way to resolve it.

China has put forward a "two-track approach" and "two-suspension proposal" to defuse the looming crisis. During the China-U.S. dialogue, China urged the adoption of these proposals in a bid to pull the Korean nuclear issue back onto the right track.

China also urged all stakeholders to abide by and strictly implement UN resolutions on this issue. 

Meanwhile, China has reiterated its opposition to the deployment of the THAAD anti-missile defense system in South Korea and urged that such deployment be revoked.

Wednesday's dialogue has also touched upon other issues including the South China Sea and cooperation between the two militaries and countries. 

Both sides pledged to expand cooperation and manage differences on the basis of mutual respect, to ensure the healthy and stable development of this relationship. They agreed that it's very important to maintain frequent high-level exchanges between the two governments. They also said that with joint effort, the upcoming summit between the two leaders during the G20 meeting next month will be a great success. 

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said President Donald Trump is looking forward to his state visit to China later this year at the invitation of President Xi Jinping. 

Both sides are also looking forward to the inaugural meetings of the other three dialogues covering a range of issues - economics, law enforcement and cyber security, and on social, cultural and people-to-people exchanges.