China's defence minister vows never to cede any territory

Beijing: China will never give up an inch of its territory, including the self-ruled island of Taiwan that it claims as its own, or in the disputed waters of the South China Sea, the country's defence minister said on Thursday.

Wei Fenghe made the remarks at the opening of the Xiangshan Forum, which China styles as its answer to the annual Shangri-La Dialogue security forum in the wealthy city-state of Singapore.

U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis told his Chinese counterpart last week that the world's two largest economies needed to deepen high-level ties so as to navigate tension and rein in the risk of inadvertent conflict.