Top China General Tells U.S. Sea Dispute Shouldn’t Hinder Ties
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China’s highest-ranking general told U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter recent disagreements over island-building in the South China Sea shouldn’t overshadow broader ties between the two countries.
General Fan Changlong -- second only to Chinese President Xi Jinping on the Central Military Commission -- said during a visit to the Pentagon on Thursday that the territorial spat represented “just one episode in Sino-U.S. relations,” according to a statement posted on the Ministry of National Defense website. The meeting between the defense chiefs helps pave the way for Xi’s planned state visit in September.