China, US to restart military dialogue in Feb.

Source: China Daily | 02-16-2009 09:07

The mainland and the US will resume their military talks with a defense policy dialogue in Beijing on Feb 27-28, both countries' officials have said.

The dialogue between the countries' senior military officers was postponed in November after the former George W. Bush administration announced in October to sell $6.5 billion worth of arms to Taiwan despite the mainland's protest.

The dialogue will be informal, Defense Ministry spokesman Hu Changming said yesterday.

The talks, a routine yearly meeting between Washington and Beijing since 1997, is likely to be hosted by a US deputy defense minister and a deputy chief of the mainland's army, military analysts said.

Japan's Kyodo News Agency quoted a US Defense Department official as having said over the weekend that David Sedney, US assistant secretary of defense for East Asia, will lead the US team at the talks.

The talks will focus on the expansion of bilateral military cooperation and joint implementation of measures to address security concerns across the world, especially in East Asia, the official said.