China said Wednesday it urged the United States in defence talks here to cancel an arms sale to Taiwan and stay away from waters where the two powers were recently involved in high-seas standoffs. China also urged all sides to exercise restraint over North Korea's recent nuclear sabre-rattling, Lieutenant General Ma Xiaotian of the People's Liberation Army told reporters.
The comments by Ma, deputy chief of the PLA general staff, followed two days of talks with US defence officials led by under-secretary for defence Michele Flournoy. The American side had hoped to use the talks to push China towards a tougher stance against North Korea. "We talked seriously about the problem of North Korea," Ma said during a press conference after the talks. He added: "At the same time we hope and urge parties concerned to take all measures to control the situation and resolve the problem through dialogue and consultation."
The talks were held in Beijing amid military tensions between the two giants linked in part to US concern over China's military build-up, Taiwan's status and the recent maritime confrontations. China briefly cut off military exchanges with the United States in October 2008 over a planned US arms sale to Taiwan, a self-governed island that China claims as part of its sovereign territory.
Ma stressed that the resumption of such talks under the administration of President Barrack Obama would have a "positive influence" on developing closer military ties. But he reiterated China's call for a planned 6.5-billion-dollar US arms sale to Taiwan to be scrapped, calling such deals "the greatest obstacle to Sino-American relations."
"Therefore we have called on the United States to pay great attention to Chinese concerns and Chinese core interests and to cancel arms sales to Taiwan to provide a basis for development of good bilateral relations," he said. Ma also said China "reaffirmed its opposition to ships and aircraft conducting surveillance activities in the exclusive economic zone of China," a reference to the recent maritime confrontations in the South China Sea.
US and Chinese vessels have been involved in a series of incidents in the area this year, triggering US accusations of "aggressive" Chinese behaviour while China has complained the US navy infringed on its maritime territory. Flournoy was to speak with reporters separately later in the afternoon.
A Pentagon official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told reporters in Washington over the weekend that the United States had hoped to nudge China to use more of its leverage on North Korea to bring it to heel. North Korea alarmed the international community by vowing to build more nuclear bombs after the UN slapped new sanctions on the reclusive state.
The UN Security Council imposed the sanctions - supported by China, North Korea's main ally - after Pyongyang carried out its second nuclear test and several missile launches last month. Beijing has steadfastly favoured cautious diplomacy with Pyongyang, wary of causing its hard-line regime to collapse, potentially sending millions of refugees streaming over its border. However, it has supported the new UN sanctions resolution.