WASHINGTON, July 7  -- High-ranking officials from China and U.S. will meet in Beijing this week for annual dialogue and consultation to increase mutual trust, reduce differences and boost the new model of major-country relationship.

The sixth round of China-U.S. Strategic and Economic Dialogue (S&ED), slated for Wednesday and Thursday, will be co-chaired by Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang and State Councilor Yang Jiechi, as well as U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew.

The following are some topics the U.S. side appeared to be interested in about the talks.

MIL-TO-MIL TIES

The agenda for military relations has been expanding gradually over the last few years, ever since Chinese President Xi Jinping decided in 2012 that military ties were an important part of the overall bilateral relationship, noted Bonnie Glaser, a senior adviser for Asia in the Freeman Chair in China Studies at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Despite trading barbs in recent months -- U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel's May visit with counterparts in Beijing saw both sides publicly trading criticisms -- relations between the country's armed forces are becoming increasingly frank and open, U.S. experts said.

Indeed, there have been a number of high-level exchanges in recent months and years. The Defense Consultative Talks are now held regularly and the two sides have agreed to hold the Strategic Security Dialogue more than once a year, experts noted.

Military exercises have also expanded. China, for the first time, joined the U.S.-led Rim of the Pacific military exercises this week, and last year the two countries held disaster relief drills in Hawaii. There are also other exercises that the two countries' navies are cooperating, experts noted.

"There's a lot going on. And the U.S. hopes that we have built a foundation that will enable these relations to continue," Glaser told Xinhua.

CLIMATE CHANGE

Robert M. Hathaway, director of the Asia Program at the Wilson Center, told Xinhua that both sides recognize the dangers of climate change, but face the difficulty of finding a common approach as both parties have their own political and economic constraints.

"The Chinese have taken a number of constructive steps in recent years to reduce their own (carbon) emissions," said the director. But he also expressed reservations about whether there would be major breakthroughs at the meeting.

"I think any progress that the two countries make will be incremental in nature," he said.

ITA TALKS

The United States sees this year's S&ED as an opportunity to "break the deadlock" over the negotiations on the expansion of the Information Technology Agreement (ITA)", U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman told a press conference on Monday.

Chinese Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng said in last November that China has been pushing forward ITA talks since September last year, but demands made by the U.S. side far exceeded what is acceptable to Chinese enterprises.

He said that Chinese companies would be left in a weaker position if the U.S. side got its way, and urged all sides to find a proper solution to reach an agreement as soon as possible.