The People's Liberation Army wishes to become a "friend and partner" of the United States military so that the two sides can join hands to contribute to the stability and improvement in bilateral relations, a senior Chinese military strategist said.

Retired Lieutenant General He Lei, former vice-president of the PLA Academy of Military Science, said that if the Chinese military were to send a message to the US military via the ongoing 11th Beijing Xiangshan Forum, which opened in the Chinese capital on Thursday, it would be that the two powers and two militaries should be friends and partners and cooperate to cultivate a win-win relationship.

"By achieving this, the two militaries will be able to help stabilize and advance the two nations' relations and make sure that such relations will always move forward on the right track," he told reporters on the sidelines of the forum, which is organized by the China Association for Military Science and the China Institute for International Strategic Studies.

The retired officer, who often speaks for China at international conferences, said that China hopes the US will contribute to global peace, security and stability, rather than creating geopolitical blocs and instigating tensions and confrontations.

He said that the US has sent a senior Pentagon official to the forum, and he will be welcomed in Beijing.

"The official is more senior than his US peer who attended the Xiangshan Forum last year, which, as I understand it, shows the US is willing to communicate with China and learn more about China and the Chinese military. We appreciate that stance and regard it as a good development," he noted.

The general added this will help consensuses reached by top leaders of the two countries to materialize, strengthen strategic communications between senior commanders, facilitate risk management and avoid misunderstandings and misjudgments.

"I personally suggest that the US representative should take advantage of this forum to hear more voices from the Chinese government, the Chinese armed forces as well as most nations in the world, and should bring those voices back to leaders of the Pentagon and White House," the high-ranking researcher said.

Responding to a question about the possibility of an unexpected skirmish between China and the US in the South China Sea, He said it depends on what the US does.

"China always wants the South China Sea to be a sea of peace, friendship and cooperation, but if the US insists on being a plotter that pushes others to stand on the front line to confront China, or if it has no other choice but to challenge us by itself, the Chinese people and the PLA will never waver. Our military will use strong will and determination, strong capability and effective measures to smash any malicious attempts on our sovereignty and maritime rights and interests," the general said.

Rick Waters, managing director of Eurasia Group's China practice and a former senior China policy official at the US State Department, stressed the significance of bilateral communication between the two countries.

He said at the forum on Thursday that the recent China-US engagement is trying to "better communicate the actual intentions, and trying to inject a measure of predictability".

Those engagements can at least achieve stabilization or predictability in some key issues between the nations, Waters said.

Themed "Promoting Peace for a Shared Future", the 11th Beijing Xiangshan Forum consists of four plenary sessions, eight special workshops and several other activities.

Contact the writers at [email protected]