Senior retired flag officers of the U.S. Army, Navy and Air Force traveled to Beijing, China to meet with retired flag officers of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) to discuss critical issues in the U.S.-China military-to-military relationship. The delegations spent one-and-a-half days in off-the-record dialogue and also met with sitting members of China’s Central Military Commission.

The dialogue sessions covered a range of topics of importance to the United States and China. Discussion focused on Chinese President Xi Jinping’s state visit to the United States; measures for building trust between the U.S. and Chinese militaries; maritime issues in the South and East China Seas; and other issues of mutual interest such as U.S.-China relations under the next U.S. presidential administration, North Korea and counterterrorism. 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 and admirals in order to build stronger military-to-military ties between the United States and China.