U.S., China conclude military talks

SHANGHAI, China (CNN) -- Just over a year after the mid-air collision of a U.S. spy plane and Chinese fighter jet, U.S. and Chinese military officials held "professional and cooperative" discussions this week in eastern China.

On Friday, the two sides concluded their annual meeting of the Military Maritime Consultative Agreement in Shanghai.

"Both sides exchanged views in a spirit of mutual respect on relevant issues of Sino-U.S. military maritime safety, identified common ground and remaining differences," the Pentagon said in a statement.

Relations between Beijing and Washington have been strained since a U.S. EP-3 Aries II reconnaissance plane collided with a Chinese F-8 fighter jet on April 1, 2001, over the South China Sea.

The Chinese pilot died in the incident and the American plane made a harrowing emergency landing at a Chinese military base on Hainan Island, where the 24 U.S. crew members were detained for 11 days before being released.

U.S.-Sino relations have been strained since by continued discord over American support for Taiwan, which Beijing regards as a renegade province and part of China, and China's inclusion on a Bush administration review of possible nuclear targets.

But there has also been movement towards cooperation, highlighted by President Bush's visit to China last February and plans by Chinese Vice President Hu Jintao -- widely seen as the heir apparent to aging Chinese President Jiang Zemin -- to visit the United States this fall.

This week's meeting was the third held under a January 1998 agreement on military maritime safety between the U.S. Department of Defense and Chinese Ministry of Defense.

Rear Adm. William Sullivan, director of Strategic Planning and Policy for the U.S. Pacific Command, led the U.S. team. The Chinese delegation was led by Rear Adm. Zhou Borong, deputy chief of staff for the People's Liberation Army Navy.

During the three-day meeting, the U.S. delegation met with the commander of China's East Sea Fleet and toured a Chinese warship.