China, US militaries agree to boost ties to avoid war

BEIJING

China and the United States agreed Tuesday to increase communication between their militaries to avoid miscalculations that could trigger a war.

Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Joseph Dunford and General Fang Fenghui, chief of the People's Liberation Army's Joint Staff Department, signed a framework agreement to build a new communication mechanism between the two sides’ military personnel, China Daily reported.

The first meeting to set up the framework is scheduled for November, according to the U.S. Department of Defense.

The visit to China by Gen. Dunford was his first since President Donald Trump assumed office.

In the meeting, General Fang was quoted as saying that President Xi Jinping and Trump "valued the friendly development of the two militaries."

The visit came amid rising tensions between the U.S. and North Korea over its recent intercontinental ballistic missile tests.

Following the North’s tests of intercontinental ballistic missiles on July 4 and July 28, the UN on Saturday imposed new sanctions on Pyongyang with a sweeping ban on exports of coal, iron, and seafood that could eliminate $1 billion in annual revenues.

Chinese officials opposed the sanctions and instead called for dialogue and negotiations.

But the U.S. has adopted a tough stance in an attempt to pressure the North to abandon its nuclear and missile programs.

"Military solutions are now fully in place, locked and loaded, should North Korea act unwisely," Trump tweeted on August 8, before retweeting Pentagon photographs of B1 bombers that are said to be key to U.S. plans to strike the North.

"Hopefully Kim Jong-un will find another path!" he added, referring to the country's authoritarian leader.

Pyongyang has decided to postpone plans to fire missiles into waters off the U.S. island territory of Guam and will wait to see what the U.S. does next.

Reporting by Fuat Kabakci;Writing by Satuk Bugra Kutlugun