Reuters reports that “the United States is optimistic about military exchanges with China and wants deeper ties to help reduce the risk of miscalculation, a top U.S. military officer said on Saturday, playing down tension between the world’s two biggest economies.”  

“U.S. Army Chief of Staff General Ray Odierno told reporters in Beijing that he had had ‘frank, honest and important’ talks with his Chinese counterparts on establishing deeper dialogue between the two armies.”  

“‘This is really about expanding cooperation, and, frankly, managing competition. We want to expand our cooperation at a very high level, deepen our cooperation in areas of mutual interest and then manage our differences constructively,’ Odierno said.”