The United States and China will resume an annual military dialogue in late February, the Pentagon said on Monday.

"On Feb. 27-28, 2009, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense David Sedney will hold annual Defense Policy Coordination Talks with the People's Liberation Army (PLA) in Beijing," Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said.

Whitman said the talks will focus on military-to-military relationship between the two countries, regional and global security issues, as well as how to expand cooperation between the two militaries.

Describing the coming talks as "the first policy dialogue" with the PLA under the Obama administration, Whitman said the talks represent "an opportunity" for the United States to further dialogue with China on areas of shared interest and mutual benefit.

Military exchanges between China and the United States have been suspended since October last year when the then Bush administration notified Congress of its plan to sell arms worth about 6.5 billion U.S. dollars to Taiwan, including Patriot III anti-missile system and E-2T airborne early warning aircraft upgrade system.

In the Aug. 17 joint communique between China and the United States, the U.S. side is committed to reducing its arms sales to Taiwan in both qualitative and quantitative terms, leading to a final resolution.

Source: Xinhua