In his first major address as China's defence minister, General Li Shangfu has said that a conflict with the US would be an "unbearable disaster" for the world.
"Some countries" were intensifying an arms race in Asia, Gen Shangfu said at a summit, reports CNN.
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However, he stated that the world was big enough for both superpowers, and that the two nations should seek common ground.
Previously, the US accused a Chinese vessel of doing "unsafe" maneuvers in the Taiwan Strait.
The US Navy said a Chinese destroyer had sailed near one of its destroyers on Saturday and forced it to slow down to avoid a collision. A Canadian ship was also sailing nearby, said the report.
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China criticized both countries for "deliberately provoking risk." The United States and Canada stated that they would sail where international law permitted, it said.
In his address, Gen Shangfu, who was appointed defence minister in March, accused the US of having a "Cold War mentality," which he claimed was "greatly increasing security risks."
He stated that China will not allow US and allied naval patrols to be used as "a pretext to exercise hegemony of navigation."
When asked about the incident in the Taiwan Strait, he stated that tensions were being raised by countries outside the area.
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He was speaking at the Shangri-La Dialogue, the Asia-Pacific region's sole annual security forum, in Singapore.
In response to US sanctions imposed on
Gen Shangfu in 2018 for procuring weapons from Russia, Beijing has rejected a US proposal for direct military talks.
During the Singapore summit, US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin criticized China for declining to conduct military talks.
According to reports, Gen Austin and Gen Shangfu shook hands and talked briefly at the event's opening dinner on Friday, but there was no significant dialogue.
According to Zhou Bo, a former officer of the People's Liberation Army, the Chinese defence minister's "moderate" tone indicates that negotiations with his US counterpart are possible, but Washington must withdraw sanctions against him first.
Gen Shangfu was sanctioned in 2018 for acquiring military weaponry from Russia. His five-year tenure as China’s defence minister began earlier this year, but the sanctions restrict him from traveling to the United States and make inviting Gen Austin to China difficult, said Zhou.