Chinese President Xi Jinping stiffly defended his country's claim to disputed islands in the South China Sea after US Defense Secretary James Mattis questioned the militarisation of the region in a day of meetings in Beijing Wednesday with top officials. The two sides held firm to their stances on a hot-button issue which has added to broader tensions between the rival superpowers, but US officials said it did not undermine Mattis's effort to rescue the fraying relationship between the two militaries. Mattis's talks with Xi, his Chinese counterpart Wei Fenghe, and politburo member Yang Jiechi found general agreement on North Korea, Afghanistan, and some other lesser issues, successfully planting the seeds for better cooperation and dialogue, including a possible visit by Wei to the Pentagon, the officials said.
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