US defense chief visits China as tensions simmer

US Secretary of Defense James Mattis arrives at a hotel in Beijing on June 26, 2018. Mattis arrived in Beijing on his first ever visit to China on June 26, aiming to find room for military cooperation as security tensions between the two superpowers edge higher. / AFP PHOTO / WANG ZHAO BEIJING, China — US Defense Secretary James Mattis arrived in Beijing on his first ever visit to China on Tuesday, aiming to find room for military cooperation as security tensions between the two superpowers edge higher.

With Washington and Beijing locked in an escalating trade war, and the Pentagon alarmed over China’s placement of weapons on disputed islands in the South China Sea, Mattis said he would seek areas where the the two sides share interests, including persuading North Korea to give up its nuclear arsenal.

Mattis is scheduled to meet his Chinese counterpart, Defense Minister Wei Fenghe, for the first time as well as other top officials, to “take measure” of their views.

The last time a US defense secretary visited China was four years ago, and communications between the two militaries need strengthening, Mattis said.

“I think the way to address issues between our two nations is to first establish a transparent strategic dialogue: how do the Chinese see the relationship with us developing, how we see it developing,” he said.

In a statement ahead of the visit, Chinese defense ministry spokesman Ren Guoqiang said they should “work together to make the bilateral military relationship an important stabilizing factor in the relationship between the two countries.”

But China’s state-run Global Times newspaper, warned in an editorial on Tuesday that “Mattis should listen rather than criticize”.

“If the US fails to understand China’s sense of insecurity, or misinterprets the necessity of the actions that China has taken to alleviate this sense of insecurity, tensions will be inevitable in Sino-US ties,” the nationalist tabloid wrote.