美中防长会晤以期改善关系

U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis has told his Chinese counterpart that improved high-level relations between their countries will reduce the risk of unintentional conflict.

Mattis and Chinese General Wei Fenghe met on the sidelines of an Asian security conference in Singapore in an effort to normalize military relations. Following the talks, U.S. officials said they sensed relations with China's military had stabilized, although the talks did not produce new agreements.

Military relations between Washington and Beijing had deteriorated in recent weeks over a bitter trade war, U.S. sanctions against China's military for buying weapons from Russia, and Beijing's creation of military outposts in the South China Sea.

Pentagon official Randall Schriver told reporters after the longer-than-expected 90-minute meeting that Mattis "repeated our desire for a durable relationship that is a stabilizing force in the overall relationship."

Mattis planned to meet in Beijing with Wei a few weeks ago, but Chinese officials said Wei was not available, one of several indications strained U.S.-China relations had spread into the military arena. China's snub came as it reacted angrily to the sanctions

U.S. President Donald Trump has often lambasted China over its economic policies. China did not immediately comment to U.S. media after the meeting between Mattis and Wei during the Association of Southeast Asian Nations conference.美国国防部长马蒂斯对他的中国同行表示，改善美中两国之间的高层关系将减少意外冲突的风险。

马蒂斯和中国国防部长魏凤和上将在新加坡举行的亚洲安全会议期间会晤，努力使两国军事关系正常化。美国官员在会谈后表示他们感觉与中国军方的关系已经稳定，不过谈判没有达成新的协议。

最近几周华盛顿和北京之间的军事关系恶化，原因包括双方激烈的贸易战，美国因中国军队从俄罗斯购买武器而实施制裁，以及北京在南中国海建立军事前哨。

五角大楼官员Randall Schriver在长达90分钟的会议结束后告诉记者，马蒂斯重申了“我们对保持持久关系的愿望，这种关系是中美关系中的稳定力量。”

马蒂斯曾在几周前计划在北京与魏凤和会面，但中国官员当时表示魏凤和无法会面，这是美中关系转冷扩散到军事领域的若干迹象之一。中国的这种冷落显示了对美国制裁的愤怒。

美国总统特朗普经常抨击中国的经济政策。马蒂斯与魏凤和在东盟会议期间会晤后，中方没有立即对美国媒体发表评论。