China not to accept any act detrimental to security interests under navigation-freedom pretext: Xi

Chinese President Xi Jinping (1st R) meets with his U.S. counterpart Barack Obama (1st L) on the sidelines of the fourth Nuclear Security Summit in Washington D.C., the United States, March 31, 2016. (Xinhua/Xie Huanchi)

WASHINGTON, March 31 -- Chinese President Xi Jinping said here Thursday that his country will not accept any act under the disguise of freedom of navigation that violates its sovereignty and damages its security interests.

Addressing the South China Sea issue in a meeting here with his U.S. counterpart, Barack Obama, Xi also reaffirmed that Beijing respects and safeguards the freedom of navigation and overflight other countries are entitled to under international law.

China, he stressed, is resolute both in defending its sovereignty and related rights in South China Sea and in safeguarding peace and stability in the region, and sticks to the principle that the disputes should be settled in a peaceful way by relevant claimants through direct consultations and negotiations.

Beijing hopes that the United States will abide by its commitment to not taking sides on the sovereignty and territorial rows in South China Sea and play a constructive role in maintaining regional peace and stability, said the Chinese president.

For his part, Obama said the two sides have extensive common interests in the Asia-Pacific region and his country is willing to work with China to control their differences in a constructive manner.

The meeting between the leaders of the world's largest developing and developed countries, their first so far this year, took place on the margins of the fourth Nuclear Security Summit.

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