Senior retired flag officers of the U.S. Army, Navy and Marine Corps traveled to Beijing and Chengdu, China to meet with retired senior generals of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) to discuss critical issues in the U.S.-China military-to-military relationship. The delegations spent two days in off-the-record dialogue in Chengdu and also met with General Zhang Yang, director of the General Political Department of the PLA and member of the Central Military Commission, and General Li Zuocheng, commander of the Chengdu Military Area. 

The Chengdu dialogue sessions covered a range of topics of military and political importance to the United States and China. Discussion focused on Taiwan; cybersecurity and regional security in Northeast Asia; and also addressed other issues such as the U.S. rebalancing strategy to Asia, North Korea, the East China Sea, Islamic extremism and managing the U.S.-China military-to-military relationship. Both sides agreed that cultivating communication and mutual understanding between the militaries of the United States and China is essential for fostering the cooperation necessary to address the world’s most difficult issues.

Since 2008, the Sanya Initiative has regularly brought together retired American and Chinese senior generals in order to build stronger military-to-military ties between the U.S. and China. EWI expects to host the next round in the United States in 2014.

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