Fourth Sino-US Defense Consultations Held in BeijingThe fourth defense consultations between defense departments of China and the United States were held in Beijing Wednesday, November 29.Xiong Guangkai, deputy chief of the General Staff of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA), and Walter B. Slocombe, under secretary of the US Department of Defense, co-chaired the consultations. The two sides exchanged views on international and regional security, Sino-US relations and other issues of common concern. The defense consultations between defense departments of the two countries were established by the two heads of State during Chinese President Jiang Zemin's visit to the US in 1997. Pentagon Delegation in Beijing for Military TalksA senior Pentagon official has arrived in Beijing for two days of talks with Chinese military leaders in the latest of a series of contacts aimed at improving relations between the two countries, the Pentagon said on November 28.Walter Slocombe, under secretary of defense for policy, will also visit Qingdao naval base and meet with the commander of China's North Sea Fleet, the Pentagon said. "Slocombe will discuss the US strategy in the Asia Pacific region, our overall China policy, and present US views on a range of current security issues affecting our bilateral relations," the Pentagon said. Relations between the two militaries were severed last year after the Chinese embassy in Belgrade was bombed by a US warplane in May. |
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