China Calls on U.S. to Mend Military Relations Ahead of Summit

China-U.S. military relations are “at a difficult period,” the official Xinhua News Agency cited Qian Lihua, director of the Foreign Affairs Office of China’s Defense Ministry, as saying. “We expect the U.S. side to take concrete measures for the resumption and development of our military ties.”

Qian spoke at the start of a two-day summit between Chinese military leaders and U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense David Sedney in Beijing. The meeting is the first since China froze military exchanges between the two countries in October to protest U.S. arms sales to Taiwan.

Xinhua didn’t say whether Qian specified any actions President Barack Obama’s administration should take.