Chinese, US militaries conclude joint humanitarian disaster management training

PORTLAND, United States - Chinese and US armies ended their 13th annual China-US Disaster Management Exchange Table Top Exchange (TTE) and practical field training Sunday in Portland, Oregon on the western US coast.

Zhang Jian, army commander of the Southern Theater Command of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA), said at the closing ceremony that the exchanges between Chinese and US armies on humanitarian disaster relief and rescue have boosted their mutual trust over the past 20 years.

China and the United States, as two major powers in the world, should work hand in hand to jointly respond to risks and challenges, and make their due contributions to human development, said Zhang.

The Chinese army is willing to work with the US side to deepen their practical cooperation on non-traditional challenges such as humanitarian relief and disaster management, in a bid to safeguard world and regional peace and stability, he added.

Robert Brown, US Army Pacific commander, said on the same occasion that the US-China exchanges on humanitarian disaster management carry vital significance for deepening the practical cooperation between China and the United States as well as their militaries.

He expressed the hope that the United States and China will continue their joint efforts to push forward military-to-military exchanges, academic discussions and practical training on humanitarian disaster management, so as to further improve their coordination capabilities in joint response to disaster relief and rescue operations.

Brown said he is confident about closer cooperation between Chinese and US armies in the future.

The week-long training began on Nov. 13 at the Camp Rilea Armed Forces Training Facility of the Oregon Army National Guard in Portland, the largest city in Oregon.

More than 100 servicemen and servicewomen from the PLA Southern Theater Command, the US Army Pacific, Oregon Army National Guard and other units took part in the training aimed at improving response to natural disasters such as floods and earthquakes, in which both armies were requested to provide humanitarian assistance.