U.S. keen to fix military ties with China
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China and the United States will resume military dialogue and exchanges, including an annual meeting on maritime military safety and defense consultations, a senior Chinese military official said Tuesday.
The remarks, and a number of recent high-profile visits by Pentagon and White House officials, appear to signal the start of a thaw in China-US relations, but analysts warn that the recent development was more symbolic, and it requires time and patience, as well as sincerity from Washington, before relations improve.
Qian Lihua, head of the Defense Ministry's Foreign Affairs Office, was quoted by the Xinhua News Agency as saying Tuesday that the two militaries will "conduct dialogue and exchange at an unspecified time in the future."
He made the remarks to Michael Schiffer, US deputy assistant secretary of defense for East Asia, during his two-day visit to Beijing.
A Reuters report said Wednesday that the two countries have scheduled talks in Hawaii for mid-October and more later in Washington, citing a US defense official.
US and Chinese officials would first meet for talks in Hawaii on Oct. 14-15. They would then hold high-level defense consultative talks in Washington later in the year, the official said.
Qian said China-US military ties are an important part of the bilateral relationship, adding that ties have the potential to develop but also face problems that should be "solved urgently."
"Safeguarding the stability of China-US military relations should be a weighty responsibility shouldered by both sides," Qian said.
Schiffer said the US military wants to work with China to establish a "stable and reliable" framework for relations, adding that uninterrupted dialogue and exchanges help to avoid misunderstandings.
Qian also briefed the US delegation on China's stance on the South China Sea issue and on joint military drills between the US and South Korea.
Relations between the two militaries have been at a standstill since January, when Beijing halted military exchanges following Washington's announcement of a $6.4 billion arms sale to Taiwan.
China also rejected a proposed visit by US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates in June.
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