A Defense Ministry spokesperson was upbeat on Thursday over the "positive progress" of mutual trust mechanisms between the United States and China, following rounds of negotiations.
Last November, both sides inked Memorandums of Understanding (MoU) on the establishment of a mutual reporting and trust mechanism on major military operations, and a code of conduct (CoC) on naval and air military encounters, which are referred to as the "two mutual trust mechanisms."
The two mechanisms are open-ended and amendable on the basis of consensus, said spokesperson Yang Yujun at a monthly press conference.
"China and the U.S. have conducted many rounds of negotiations on these mechanisms, and we are delighted to [report] positive progress," he said.
During the meeting between China Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission Fan Changlong, and U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter in June, Fan called on both sides to strive to complete consultations on the CoC by August.
