China, US avert Taiwan collision during Mattis visit

THE first visit by an American Defence Secretary to China in four years went off relatively well last week, with Jim Mattis making clear that he was approaching talks with an open mind and that he wanted to "do a lot of listening" and then "have a conversation".

He evidently had a number of tough conversations, including with President Xi Jinping and his official host, Defence Minister Wei Fenghe. While the Americans were more interested in discussing what they see as Chinese militarisation of South China Sea and North Korea, Chinese officials focused on Taiwan, where the US opened new offices on June 12 for its unofficial embassy, the American Institute in Taiwan.

China's firmness on its territorial claims was made clear by Mr Xi, who told Mr Mattis in defence of Chinese activities in South China Sea and Taiwan Straits: "Not a single inch of the territory left behind by our ancestors must be lost, while we are not seeking to take any bit of what belongs to others."