Published: 11:50, May 31, 2026 | Updated: 15:47, May 31, 2026
Calls for China, US to build stable military ties
By Jiang Chenglong
Major General Meng Xiangqing of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) leaves a special session at the Shangri-La Dialogue security summit in Singapore, May 30, 2026. (PHOTO / REUTERS)

China and the United States should work toward a "healthy, stable and sustainable" military-to-military relationship by implementing the important consensus reached by the two countries' leaders, a Chinese military scholar said on Saturday at the high-level security forum Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore.

Major General Meng Xiangqing, a professor at China's National Defense University, made the remarks at a parallel session of the Shangri-La Dialogue, after US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth referred to the recent China-US leaders' meeting and their consensus during a plenary speech earlier in the day.

Meng said the level of attention the meeting received at the forum showed that stability in China-US relations serves not only the interests of the two peoples, but also regional stability and world peace.

ALSO READ: China eyes constructive relationship of strategic stability with US

The most important political consensus reached by the two heads of state during their recent summit in Beijing is to build a constructive relationship of strategic stability between China and the US, he said.

"We expect China and the US to meet each other halfway, translate the consensus into concrete actions, and push military-to-military relations toward healthy, stable and sustainable development," Meng said.

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth delivers his address during the Shangri-La Dialogue, Asia's annual defense and security forum, in Singapore, May 30, 2026. (PHOTO / AP)

Responding to a question from a member of the Chinese delegation after his speech, Hegseth said the new vision of building a constructive US-China relationship of strategic stability is "real, substantive, and meaningful for the history of peace in the region and the world."

READ MORE: China, US to work out tariff deal arrangements soon

Hegseth noted that he was there when the head-of-state conversations were held about constructive, strategic stability. "I think that was a great framing from both leaders about what they want from that relationship," he said.

"I think there is a mutual respect, a recognition of capabilities and power and how that could be most usefully leveraged in the world today," he added.