U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis said here on Saturday that the U.S. relations with China are important for the stability in the Asia-Pacific region.
Addressing a plenary session of the Shangri-La Dialogue, Mattis said that as China occupies a position of influence in the Pacific, "we welcome China's economic development."
While competition between the United States and China, the world's two largest economies, is bound to occur and conflict is not inevitable, "our two countries can and do cooperate for mutual benefit. We will work closely with China where we share common cause," Mattis said.
"We seek a constructive, results-oriented relationship with China. We believe the United States can engage China diplomatically and economically to ensure our relationship is beneficial not only to the United States and China, but also to the region and to the world," he added.
At the dialogue organized by the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies, senior military officials, diplomats and experts will discuss such topics as nuclear issues, security cooperation and measures to avoid conflicts.
