2017年CRI Chinese president meets top U.S. general（在线收听）

Chinese President Xi Jinping has met with the Chair of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, suggesting Joseph Dunford's now-concluded trip to China will play a stabilizing role in the relationship between the militaries of both sides.

The 3-day visit to China by U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Joseph Dunford to China wrapped up on Thursday.

As part of his time in China, Dunford and has met with a number of leading Chinese military and political figures, including President Xi Jinping, who is also the head of China's Central Military Commission.

"You've had meetings with General Fang Fenghui and Vice Chairman Fan Chanlong and State Councilor Yang Jiechi, and had talks with them on a wide range of issues. You've also visited the northeast of our country. This reflects that our military-to-military relations have made a substantial and productive step forward."

Xi Jinping has told Dunford that he and Donald Trump, who is also Commander-in-Chief of the US military, both understand the importance of maintaining open lines of communication between their respective armed forces. 

"US President Trump and myself both agree that our military to military relations constitute an important component of our state-to-state relations. Promoting constructive relations between the two militaries is very important for us to deepen relations between the two countries. Therefore we attach great importance to the development of our military-to-military relations and committed ourselves to further promoting bilateral cooperation."

For his part, Joseph Dunford says he's pleased with the discussions he's had with China's military leadership.

"As you indicated, I think we had a very productive dialogue with General Fan (Gen. Fan Changlong, vice chairman of China's Central Military Commission) and we were able to sign the Joint Staffs Dialogue Mechanism which will help move us forward in military-to-military relations."

Dunford also says both sides want to continue working on improving risk controls and mutual trust between the two militaries.

Dunford's trip to China, while mainly a trust-building exercise, was also designed to try to iron-out a number of military-related issues ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump's trip to China later this year.