US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis meets his Chinese counterpart Wei Fenghe

US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis is meeting his Chinese counterpart, Wei Fenghe, on the sidelines of an Asian defence ministers' conference in Singapore yesterday. The Pentagon's top policy official for Asia and the Pacific, Randall G. Schriver, told reporters that the Chinese had requested the meeting with Mattis. He said U.S. officials took this as a sign that the Chinese are interested in stabilizing the military



relationship.

Mr Mattis said the two countries are large powers and they would find a way to productively manage the relationship. He said the military relationship is to be a stabilizing force in the relations between the two countries. Mattis and Wei Fenghe are in Singapore for a regional meeting of defence ministers. Mattis visited China in June, but since then a series of events have escalated tensions.