Mattis takes aim at Chinese expansionism in Beijing visit
China’s military expansionism will be met with a "medium tough" message from US defence secretary James Mattis during his three-day visit to Beijing this week.
The former marine general, a prominent critic of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s military action in the South China Sea, is thought to have had a hand in Washington's recent decision to withdraw an invitation for the annual joint military training exercises known as RIMPAC.
Xi has assured Mattis that China is committed to peace but will not give up even an inch of territory left behind by the nation’s ancestors.
According to China's Defence Minister, Wei Fenghe: "China upholds peaceful development, and China's military unswervingly protects the country’s sovereignty, security and development interests."
Mattis visits the country amid bad blood over an ongoing trade spat, with President Xi and his government having on other occasions appeared to hint at anger over the fact that independent Taiwan - which Beijing likes to claim is a renegade province - is armed by the US.
China has gone to great length in the past in order to undermine Taiwan's status as a sovereign state, viewing the island as a sacred part of its territory.
The Chinese military have been holding daily combat drills for more than a week in waters near Taiwan, and there have been frequent Chinese air force exercises near the island.
It is understood that the three-day visit will see Mattis prioritise securing assurances of Chinese cooperation in the negotiations for the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula.
China ha already officially welcomed the historic summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Singapore, where Kim committed to work toward complete denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula, while Trump pledged to halt joint US-South Korean 'war games'.