The Chinese military has urged the US to be "rational and mature" in dealing with military relations with China. The National Defense Ministry delivered this message during its monthly news briefing on Thursday, urging the US to create favorable conditions for military exchanges between the two countries.
On September 21, the United States announced sanctions on a Chinese military organization for buying Russian weapons.
The decision met with strong opposition from China which recalled its navy commander from a US trip.
The National Defense Ministry said on Thursday that the US is to be blamed for the current China-US military relations, and urged the US to be rational and mature.
"The current problems in China-US relations are all due to the US,” said Ren Guoqiang, spokesperson for the ministry. "The US side should be solely blamed.
"We demand that the US sincerely take a reasonable and mature attitude and take actions to improve the bilateral military relationship, working together with the Chinese side to turn our military relationship into a stabilizing factor for China-US ties."
The ministry insisted that China and Russia's strategic military cooperation is legitimate and going smoothly and will be continued and that the US has no right to interfere.
General Wei Fenghe, China's defense minister, greets his US counterpart James Mattis in Beijing, June 27, 2018. /Xinhua Photo
Ren also said that the US' recent 330-million-dollar arms deal with Taiwan is not about the number but about its nature.
He said China firmly opposes that move.
"Taiwan is an inalienable part of China, and the US arms sale to Taiwan violates the US principle and the three joint communiques between China and the US. It interferes in China's domestic affairs and undermines China's sovereignty and security rights. It also undermines the strategic trust between the two countries and two militaries, as well as the stability across the Strait," the spokesperson said
"I also want to point out that any attempts to take advantage of Taiwan to check China or use force to prevent China's reunification will come to a dead end."
US defense secretary Jim Mattis visited Beijing in June. Chinese National Defense Minister Wei Fenghe is also supposed to visit the US in the second half of this year. Chinese National Defense Ministry says China values military relations with the US and that demands the US side creates favorable conditions for military exchanges.
Chinese soldiers patrol a breakwater on Yongshu Reef in the South China Sea, January 6, 2016. /Xinhua Photo
Ren also commented on Britain's Freedom of Navigation Operations (FONOPs) recently in the South China Sea, saying that the Chinese army firmly opposes the pseudo-proposition of the FONOPs.
"China respects and safeguards the freedom of navigation and flight enjoyed by all countries in the South China Sea in accordance with international law, but we firmly oppose some countries to conduct illegal and provocative things under the guise of freedom of navigation," he stressed.
Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Monday also urged Britain to honor its commitment not to take sides regarding the South China Sea issue while meeting with his British counterpart Jeremy Hunt on the margins of the UN General Assembly
A British Navy warship HMS Albion sailed near the South China Sea on August 31 without China's permission.