国内英语新闻:China to work with U.S. to ensure success of President Xi's state visit: general

WASHINGTON, June 12 (Xinhua) -- China will work closely with the United States to ensure a full success of Chinese President Xi Jinping's first state visit to the country in September, a top Chinese general said.

In a meeting with U.S. National Security Advisor Susan Rice at the White House on Friday, Fan Chonglong, vice chairman of China's Central Military Commission, said both China and the United States attach great importance to Xi's visit, which he called the most important event in the development of the China-U.S. ties this year.

The general, who is satisfied with the generally steady development of the bilateral ties, pledged that China will make joint efforts with the U.S. to create "a positive atmosphere" so as to ensure Xi's visit a great success.

He commended the progress made in varied areas of the China-U.S. military ties, while proposing the two sides actively seek to build up a new type of military relationship based on "mutual trust, cooperation, non-conflict and sustainability" through increasing exchanges, conducting pragmatic cooperation and managing risks as well as crises.

For her part, Rice agreed with Fan's assessment of the current state of the overall China-U.S. ties and the military-to-military relationship. She said the United States is looking forward to Xi's visit and the annual U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue to be held in Washington late this month.

She said the United States highly values the communications and coordination between the two sides on dealing with issues such as the Iranian nuclear talks, counterterrorism, climate change, and fighting the Ebola epidemic, which she said demonstrated the basis and capability for the two countries to conduct cooperation on key issues.

Rice was satisfied with the progress in developing the bilateral military ties, while expressing the hope that the two militaries will strengthen communications and cooperation and strive to complete the consultations on signing the Code of Safe Conduct on Air Encounters.

Fan also held talks with U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the State Department on Friday. He already held talks with U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter at the Pentagon on Thursday.

In these meetings, the Chinese general exchanged views with his U.S. hosts on many issues of mutual concern, including the South China Sea, Taiwan, cyber security, Japan and the Korean Peninsula. He demanded the U.S. side speak and act cautiously on issues related to China's core interests or matters of great concern for China, handle these issues in a fair and objective manner, and avoid doing something that will damage the bilateral military ties and regional security and stability.

On Friday, Fan witnessed with U.S. Army Chief of Staff Raymond Odierno the signing of the China-U.S. Army-to-Army Dialogue Mechanism at the National Defense University, which will open a new channel for leaders in the two armies "to raise and discuss issues of mutual concern such as humanitarian assistance and disaster response practices," according to the Pentagon.

Earlier in the morning, the general also met with Flying Tigers pilot J.V. Vinyard, and some former pilots' families to thank them for their contribution to and sacrifice for China in the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression more than 70 years ago.

The high-level Chinese military delegation headed by Fan, which started its U.S. trip on Monday, has visited such places as a Boeing factory in Seattle, the Naval Air Station North Island in San Diego, and the U.S. Army base at Fort Hood, Texas and the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan.