China, U.S. hold defense talks in Washington

The 17th defense policy coordination talks between China and the United States were held in Washington on Monday and Tuesday, China's Defense Ministry announced on Wednesday.

In a statement, the ministry said the talks were co-chaired by officials from the Central Military Commission and the U.S. deputy assistant to the secretary of defense.

The Chinese side said in a statement that it is willing to develop healthy and stable military-to-military relations with the U.S. on the basis of equality and respect, and jointly implement the military-related consensus reached by the two heads of the states during their meeting in San Francisco in November.

The statement said that the U.S. should acknowledge China's concerns and do more to promote the development of bilateral military ties.

China also reiterated its positions on the Taiwan question and the South China Sea issues.

It said it will never make any compromise on the Taiwan question and demanded the U.S. side to abide by the one-China principle, implement its relevant commitments, stop arming Taiwan and oppose "Taiwan independence", the statement said.

China also urged the U.S. to reduce its military deployment and provocative actions in the South China Sea and stop providing support to certain countries that are infringement on its territory and causing provocations.

The U.S. should fully recognize the root causes of maritime and air security risks, strictly restrain its front-line troops and stop hyping up problems, the ministry said.

China has also made clear its solemn position and major concerns on issues concerning China's core interests and international hotspot issues, it added.