"China stands for peaceful settlement of international disputes on hot-spot issues and follows a national defence policy that is defensive in nature," visiting Chinese President Hu Jintao said in his address to the US-China Business Council luncheon here.
"We do not engage in an arms race or pose a military threat to any country. China will never seek hegemony or pursue an expansionist policy," Hu said in an apparent reference to the increasing fear among China's neighbours over its military buildup.
On Sino-US ties, he said that advancing the sustained, strong and steady development of China-American relations would serve the fundamental interests of two peoples.
"It is also conducive to world peace and development. Working together hand-in-hand, we will build and develop a China-US cooperative partnership based on mutual respect and mutual benefit and deliver greater benefits to the people of our two countries and the world over," he said before leaving for Chicago on the last leg of his four-day US visit.
Hu said both China and the US are committed to the development and prosperity of Asia-Pacific, the region where the two countries have the most overlapping interests.
"Cooperation between our two countries in the region is crucial to the regional situation and the growth of our bilateral relations," he said.
"China and the United States have maintained close communication and coordination on regional hot-spot issues such as the Korean nuclear issue, Afghanistan and South Asia and have played a constructive role in promoting peace, development, good neighbourliness, mutual trust and mutually beneficial cooperation in the region," Hu said.
The Chinese President said the two countries have maintained close communication and coordination in both the traditional and nontraditional security fields.
"Together, we pushed for major progress in international efforts on climate change and non-proliferation, and facilitated positive outcomes after the G-20 Summit and other meetings. We have joined the rest of the international community in a common effort to safeguard overall stability in the international order and advance the reform and development of the international system," he said.
A US-China joint statement issued after Hu's talks with US President Barack Obama on Wednesday had no mention of China's role in South Asia, in particular between India and Pakistan; unlike the one issued in November 2009.
Hu said both China and the US are committed to upholding world peace and stability and reforming the international system.
"China is the largest developing country, while the United States -- the largest developed one. The steady growth of our relations itself is a major contribution to world peace and stability," he said.