Senior Chinese, US military officers meet on ties

WASHINGTON - Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff Martin Dempsey on Thursday met with Wang Guanzhong, deputy chief of general staff of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA).

During their meeting at the Pentagon, Dempsey spoke highly of the positive momentum of bilateral military ties, saying that high-level contacts between the two militaries are conducive to the development of US-China military ties.

Dempsey also expressed the hope that the two militaries would continue to increase exchanges and strengthen cooperation.

The two militaries and defense-related departments should work jointly to facilitate new policies on cooperation and take concrete actions to further promote the establishment of a new type of China-US military relationship, in accordance with the consensus reached between Chinese and US heads of state and on the basis of mutual respect, equality, mutual trust and cooperation, Wang said.

Wang also met with Curtis Scaparrotti, director of the joint staff, after his meeting with Dempsey.

The visiting Chinese military officer earlier participated in the fifth round of the annual Strategic and Economic Dialogue (S&ED) concluded Thursday.