Defense Minister on Sino-US Cooperative TiesDefense Minister Chi Haotian met Thursday with Joseph Nye, former assistant secretary of defense of the United States, praising him for his role in promoting the relations between the two countries and their armed forces.Chi, who is also a state councilor and vice-chairman of the Chinese Central Military Commission, noted that China is the world 's largest developing country and the U.S. is the biggest developed country, adding that developing friendly cooperative ties between the two countries not only conforms to the fundamental interests of the two peoples, but also is conducive to the peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region and the world at large. Chi told his American guest that China's policy on the Taiwan issue remains that of "peaceful reunification" and "one country, two systems." "However, we do not promise to abandon the use of force" to achieve reunification of the motherland, he stressed. There is only one China in the world, Chi said, adding that any attempts to engage in Taiwan independence and separation can never be allowed. Everything can be talked under the "one China" principle, Chi noted. He urged the U.S. government to abide by the three Sino-U.S. joint communiques and stop selling weapons to Taiwan. Joseph Nye, who is also dean of the Kennedy School of Government of Harvard University, said that he is pleased to see the good cooperative relations built between his School and the Chinese People's Liberation Army. Moreover, he said he believes the bilateral relations between the two countries will be improved, although U.S.-China relations met with some difficulties last year. Joseph Nye said he hopes that the two countries will work to resolve the existing problems in bilateral relations on the basis of consultations on equal footing. |
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