China: U.S. Must Use Islands Dispute to Prove It Doesn't Take Sides

China's leadership makes the case for U.S. non-intervention through the state-run news agency

As China and Japan are stuck in an escalating tension over the Diaoyu Islands, the U.S. needs to show with convincing moves that it "does not take sides" in the dispute, for the sake of regional peace and stability.

Washington has said once and again that it does not take sides in the dispute, a commitment that was also reiterated by U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, who is in Beijing for a four-day visit to China. It is the second leg of his week-long Asia-Pacific tour that also brings him to Japan and New Zealand.