China poses no threats to other countries including the United States, US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld said on Saturday in Singapore.

"China is an increasingly important country which is growing economically and has relations with many nations across the globe. That is a good thing, it is not a bad thing, not a threatening thing," He said at the fourth IISS Asia Security Conference here.

He noted that China's emergence is understandable, taking into consideration its size, population and history.

"China's emergence is an important new reality of this era - one that the countries of the region would no doubt like to embrace. Indeed, the world would welcome a China committed to peaceful solutions and whose industrious and well-educated people contribute to international peace and prosperity," he added.

Rumsfeld held that the proper thing for the rest of the world to do is to work with China diplomatically and economically.

He continued that the United States would prefer to see China entering the world in a peaceful and successful way, and contribute to the growth and opportunity throughout the world.

Organized by the International Institute of Strategic Studies ( IISS), the three-day conference attracted more than 200 participants from over 20 countries and regions from Asia Pacific, North America and Europe.

The annual security conference, which opened on Friday, has been held in Singapore's Shangri-la hotel since 2002.

Source: Xinhua