PLA, US troops find 'common bond'in weeklong disaster response drill

Last week's US-China Disaster Management Exchange, which concluded on Saturday, boosted military-to-military dialogue between the two countries and will continue to help improve disaster response and rescue capabilities, military officials from both countries said.

The annual exchange is a risk-reduction exercise between the United States Army Pacific and People's Liberation Army that was first held in 2005.

It focuses on international humanitarian assistance and disaster relief. This year's event kicked off on Nov 12 in Nanjing, Jiangsu province.

"The exchange is foundational to US and China military relations," said General Robert Brown, commander of US Army Pacific. "Military-to-military dialogue between the US and China helps us to gain mutual understanding－it helps us build trust and also reduces the risk of misperception and miscalculation.

"Exercises like this will absolutely increase practical deconfliction in understanding each other's procedures and processes in response to real world disasters."