Defense minister calls for mutual respect to repair ties

The right way for China and the U.S. to get along is to follow the three principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation, the Chinese defense minister said at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on Sunday.

In his speech at the security forum attended by delegations from about 40 countries, State Councilor and Defense Minister General Li Shangfu elaborated on China's attitude toward Sino-U.S. relations, which he said bears great significance for global strategic stability.

"A severe conflict or confrontation between China and the U.S. will be an unbearable disaster for the world," he said.

China has been seeking to develop a new type of major country relationship with the U.S., Li said, emphasizing the U.S. side needs to act with sincerity, match its words with deeds and take concrete action to stabilize China-U.S. relations.

Instead of provoking bloc confrontation for self-interest, a major country should bear in mind the interests of all, resolve differences through exchanges and cooperation and meet the world's aspirations of countries in the world, he added.

Li called on the U.S. to work with China to follow through on the consensus reached by the two nations' leaders and bring bilateral relations back on the right track from the current difficulties so as to further benefit both countries and the world.