The Chinese Defense Ministry criticized Thursday the outgoing US Secretary of Defense James Mattis for his “unfounded accusations” against China, but also appreciated his efforts to develop Chinese-US military ties, CNN reported. 

The official representative of the Chinese Defense Ministry Wu Qian said: "(Mattis) made positive efforts in making military-to-military relations a stabilizer in the overall China-US relationship.”

James Mattis resigned due to political differences with President Donald Trump.

According to Wu, Beijing also looked forward to having a "sound and stable" relationship with Mattis's successor, acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan, when he takes over on January 1.