Military Leaders From U.S. and China Meet

The New York Times reports:

The leaders of China’s and America’s militaries sought on Monday to cast aside decades of hostility between the two establishments, pledging at a joint news conference here to pursue what they separately called a “great opportunity” to create a “shared vision” of cooperation.

But neither indicated that his government was willing to alter positions on issues like Taiwan and the South China Sea that have long hamstrung better relations. And the Chinese leader, Gen. Chen Bingde, quickly voiced a string of complaints about American military policies that suggested their shared vision remained a distant dream.

General Chen and Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, were midway through three days of talks on Monday, following up on a visit to Washington in May by General Chen, the chief of the People’s Liberation Army general staff. Both men are under orders to improve the military relationship, one outcome of a summit last January between President Barack Obama and President Hu Jintao of China.