US military head warns of ‘difficult issues’ with China

BEIJING (AP) — US military chief Gen. Joseph Dunford says the US and China have “many difficult issues” to work through, during a visit to Beijing that comes amid tensions over North Korea’s missile program, Taiwan and China’s claims in the South China Sea.

Dunford makes the remarks at the opening of a meeting with Fang Fenghui, chief of the People’s Liberation Army’s joint staff department.

US officials say Dunford’s visit aims to create a mechanism for improving communication between the sides, especially on sensitive issues such as North Korea. Dunford and Fang signed an agreement committing the sides to that goal, with the details to be discussed during talks in Washington in November.

Fang says China has arranged a series of important meetings and visits to help Dunford “know more about our military, (boost) our cooperation and build up our friendship,” Fang said.

Dunford responds that the US considered the meetings important to making progress on areas of disagreement, without citing any specific examples.

“I think here, we have to be honest — we have many, many difficult issues where we don’t necessarily share the same perspective,” Dunford says.

“I know we share one thing: We share a commitment to work through these difficult issues,” he adds, saying that with the guidance of political leaders “we are going to make some progress over the next few days.”

— AP