Mattis' visit an opportunity to stabilize military relations

That US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis is reportedly going to adopt a less confrontational stance toward China during his visit to Beijing than he has done recently is to be welcomed, given his earlier stance was in danger of "poisoning the well", as he tacitly acknowledged.

If, as he told reporters on his plane ahead of his arrival on Tuesday, he is willing to do "a lot of listening" and is not coming with any preset ideas, it will certainly be conducive to the two sides reducing some of the bad blood between them.

That China and the United States cannot see eye to eye on a variety of issues including the South China Sea and Taiwan has become more evident as their rivalry has intensified. Mattis has himself accused Beijing of "intimidation and coercion" in the South China Sea, and last month he rescinded an invitation to the Chinese navy to join the Rim of the Pacific multinational naval exercises organized by the US.