EDITORS NOTE: AUDIO FROM NEWS CONFERENCE AS INCOMING

China welcomes General Martin Dempsey the U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Dempsey arrives for meetings with his counterpart, Chinese Chief of the General Staff of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Fang Fenghui.

The meeting comes amid heightened tension on the Korean peninsula.

(SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) CHINESE CHIEF OF GENERAL STAFF OF PEOPLE'S LIBERATION ARMY, FANG FENGHUI, SAYING:

"North Korea held their third nuclear test and it is very likely they are going to hold their fourth test. In this situation, we ask all sides to work on the North Koreans to stop the nuclear tests and stop producing nuclear weapons."

The two meet as the U.S. have shifted its military posture east.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. CHAIRMAN OF JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF, GENERAL MARTIN DEMPSEY, SAYING:

"We seek to be a stabilizing influence in the region, and in fact, we believe that it would be our absence