Qi Jianguo meets with U.S. military delegation

Qi Jianguo, deputy chief of general staff of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA), met with the humanitarian assistance and disaster reduction delegation of the United States Armed Forces headed by Stephen Lyons on the morning of November 26, 2012 in Beijing.

Qi Jianguo said that China-U.S. relations currently maintain stable momentum of development on the whole. The two sides are devoting themselves to establishing China-U.S. cooperative partnership on the basis of mutual respect and mutual benefit and striving to explore the establishment of a new relationship between the two big powers. The Chinese and the U.S. militaries are expected to focus closely on the goal and requirement of building up the new relationship between the two big powers, earnestly implement the consensus reached by defense and military leaders of the two countries, strengthen dialogue, enhance mutual trust, get over interference, promote cooperation and try to put the new military relationship into practice. He spoke positively of the important role of the exchange mechanism for humanitarian assistance and disaster reduction of the two militaries in enhancing mutual trust and advancing the development of the relations between the two militaries, and hoped that the two militaries would constantly promote bilateral cooperation and enhance mutual understanding and trust.

Lyons expressed that the two militaries shoulder great responsibility in maintaining regional peace and security. The U.S. military hopes to exchange its views on humanitarian assistance and disaster reduction with the Chinese side to learn from each other, so as to jointly promote the development of the relations between the two militaries.

The U.S. delegation will also visit southwest China's Yunnan province and Chengdu city of southwest China's Sichuan province, and conduct joint indoor-deducing on humanitarian assistance and disaster reduction with the leading organs under the Chengdu Military Area Command (MAC) of the PLA. This is the 8th humanitarian assistance and disaster reduction exchange between the two militaries.