United States Secretary of Defense James Mattis will visit China from June 26 to June 28. [Photo/IC] United States Secretary of Defense James Mattis' first visit to China will help ease tension, promote mutual trust and facilitate healthy interactions and relations between the two militaries, experts said. Chinese military officials will also take this chance to directly communicate China's stance of resolutely safeguarding its national sovereignty, territorial integrity and other core interests to the top US defense official, they added. Mattis will visit China from Tuesday to Thursday. He will meet with State and military leaders to discuss issues of common concern, Ren Guoqiang, a spokesman for Ministry of National Defense, said on Monday. It will be the first visit to China of a US defense secretary since Chuck Hagel in April 2014. Mattis will also visit the Republic of Korea and Japan after his trip to China. Developing healthy and stable Sino-US military-to-military relations is in accordance with the mutual interest of both countries and the common aspirations of the international community, Ren said. China values developing military relations with the US, and hopes the US works with China to turn the military relationship into a stabilizing factor for the countries' overall relations, he added. While Mattis' trip to China was part of the bilateral consensus reached last year, his visit comes amid recently heightened security tensions between the two over the South China Sea and Taiwan. On May 23, the Pentagon disinvited China from the 2018 Rim of the Pacific naval exercise as part of its criticism of China's military buildup in the South China Sea. The US is also helping Taiwan bolster its defense capabilities. One week ago, the US Senate passed the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act, calling for joint military drills with the island, despite Beijing's strong opposition to any country having military interactions with Taiwan. Mattis, however, has shown an interest in less contentious dialogue with China before traveling to Asia, insisting to reporters that he will not poison the well before going into the talks and will focus on larger, more strategic security issues, The Associated Press reported on Sunday. Colonel Liu Lin, an associate researcher of foreign militaries at the People's Liberation Army Academy of Military Science, said while some degree of competition is inevitable between China and the US, there is more room for cooperation than confrontation. Having high ranking military officials directly interact with each other will help increase strategic communication and build mutual trust, facilitating a healthy military relationship between the two countries, she said. Senior Colonel Zhou Bo, director of the Center for Security Cooperation under the Central Military Commission Office of International Military Cooperation, said the South China Sea, Taiwan and denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula will be among the key topics discussed during Mattis' visit to China, as well as bilateral military cooperation. Although not all differences could be managed overnight, the gesture of his coming to China is already a positive sign for Sino-US military relations, he said. material braceletscustom sweatbands no minimumwristbands onlinebat fidget spinnercustom rubber bands
PHNOM PENH - Trade volume between Cambodia and China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) was valued at $1.2 billion in 2017, an average increase of 3.1 percent a year since 2013, a HKSAR's top economic official said Monday.Edward Yau, HKSAR's Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, disclosed the figures during a meeting with Cambodian Minister of Commerce Pan Sorasak to discuss trade and economic cooperation between HKSAR and Cambodia.Mr. Yau said there is great potential for growth in trade between Hong Kong and Cambodia, noting that bilateral trade in goods amounted to $1.2 billion and increased by an average of 3.1 percent per year from 2013 to 2017, said a press release from his office.The release added that Yau also promoted HKSAR's role as the key link in the Belt and Road Initiative, saying that HKSAR is capable of contributing to infrastructure investment as well as financing, and of providing the professional and legal services needed to connect countries along the route of the Belt and Road Initiative.Yau led a 48-strong HKSAR delegation comprising businessmen and professionals to visit Cambodia on March 19-20, the first leg of their two-nation tour, which will also bring them to Vietnam.On Monday afternoon, Yau and the delegates also met with Sok Chenda Sophea, Secretary General of the Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC), to learn more about the private sector investment policy and the latest investment environment in Cambodia, the release said.According to the CDC, Cambodia attracted 13 investment projects with the investment capital of $85 million from the HKSAR in 2017.
