US, China mull military relations

China's ambassador to the US held a rare meeting at the Pentagon with the top US defense official for Asia, the Pentagon said, in talks that followed US criticism of Chinese reluctance to engage in military communications, Report informs referring to Reuters.

A brief Pentagon statement said Chinese Ambassador Xie Feng discussed defense relations and "a range of international and regional security issues" in talks with Ely Ratner, a US assistant secretary of defense.

"Ratner also underscored the Department's commitment to maintaining open lines of military-to-military communication between the United States and the PRC," Pentagon spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Martin Meiners said, using the acronym for China's official name.

The discussions lasted about 90 minutes, Meiners said.