More military exchanges

It is noteworthy that over the years whenever there has been a rift in Sino-US ties, bilateral military relations have always been the first to be affected and that even when bilateral relations are warming, military-to-military exchanges are usually the last to thaw.

With the unfolding of a series of reciprocal visits and dialogues between the two militaries this year, including former US secretary of defense Robert Gates' China visit in January; the first China-US Strategic Security Dialogue in May; the trip to the United States in May by Chief of the General Staff of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Chen Bingde; and the first China-US Consultations on Asia-Pacific Affairs in June; China-US military relations are gaining a healthy development momentum.

If Robert Gates' China visit can be seen as an "ice-breaking trip", after a year of stagnation in relations between the two militaries - due to the US approval of arms sales to Taiwan - the visit of US Navy Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, will further add to the normalization of bilateral military exchanges.