China, US to hold 15th annual defense talks

China and the United States will hold the 15th annual Defense Consultative Talks in mid-October in Washington D.C., a Chinese defense ministry spokesman announced on Thursday.

Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Wang Guanzhong will co-chair the talks with US Under Secretary of Defense Christine E. Wormuth, Geng Yansheng said at a monthly press briefing.

The strategic planning departments of the two militaries will hold their first dialogue during the talks, Geng said.

The previous talks were staged in Beijing on September 9, 2013.

When asked about progress in establishing a mutual reporting mechanism on major military operations and a code of conduct on naval and air military security between the two sides, Geng said they "are making joint efforts to reach the goal."

The presidents of China and the United States agreed on establishing the mechanism and code of conduct during their meeting in California in June last year.

Since then, the two defense ministries have been working hard on them, according to Geng.

He said that during their meeting in Beijing in early September, Fan Changlong, vice chairman of China's Central Military Commission, and Susan Rice, US national security adviser, agreed that this work is very important to enhancing China-U.S. strategic mutual trust, and should be sped up so as to achieve progress at an early date.