U.S. Secretary of State Kerry on Pentagon's Budget Increase, US-China Relations

The more that the U.S. and China work together on solving issues peacefully, the less need there is to spend on defense and related sectors, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Tuesday when asked about the Pentagon's budget request and U.S.-China relations.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi held a meeting on Tuesday with his U.S. counterpart John Kerry in Washington on a wide range of topics, including tensions in the Korean Peninsula and the South China Sea issue.

Recently, U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter submitted the Pentagon's fiscal year 2017 budget request of 580 billion U.S. dollars, listing China and Russia as the biggest headaches, and adding that the rise of China and the South China Sea issue are important reasons for the U.S. military to increase its budget and upgrade weapons in the Asia-Pacific region.

U.S. Pacific Command (PACOM) commander Harry Harris on Tuesday also made groundless accusations against China's reasonable actions in the South China Sea.

Meanwhile, China-U.S. trade volume exceeded 580 billion U.S. dollars in 2015. And for the first time, China has become the largest trade partner of the United States, with close cooperation in areas including climate, and the Iranian and DPRK nuclear issue.

On the one hand is the U.S. military and intelligence department's hostility towards China; on the other is the close cooperation between the two countries in economy and trade, culture and people-to-people exchanges and foreign affairs.

Kerry gave the following response to a reporter's question at the meeting on how the differences regarding their policies towards China between the U.S. civil service and military service will affect China-U.S. relations.

"Our job is to pursue the diplomatic opportunities for peaceful resolution and a negotiated settlement to one conflict or another. But it is PACOM's job, it is the Department of Defense's job, and it is the secretary of defense's job to address what happens if those measures fail. Those are the departments of preparedness. So they will see the world in terms of potential future threats. By the way, the PLA does the same thing. And when the defense department makes the statement it made, it makes it based on its best judgment about how to deal with eventualities," said Kerry.

"But the more we can work together, the more we resolve these issues peacefully, the less need there is, obviously, for the measure of expenditure that is taking place in those other sectors, particularly in a world where counter-terrorism is so urgent and counter-violent extremism and expenditures to try to deal with failed and failing states is far more important than a bi-state arms race," he added.

The meeting was the third in a month between the top diplomats, Wang told a press conference at the State Department, adding that it shows that both China and the United States attach great importance to the bilateral relationship.