US, China to work together for Af-Pak stability

US Defence Secretary Robert Gates on Wednesday held a meeting with visiting Chinese General Xu Caiho during which they discussed smoother military cooperation and a combined strategy to create a more stable and secure environment in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell called the meeting as "good and productive".

Besides bilateral issues, the two leaders discussed Iran, North Korea, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

"The take-away is that there was broad agreement on the importance of and how to deal with the situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and the need to work together to create a more stable and secure environment in both those places," Morrell said.

The top Chinese General also met Deputy Secretary of State James B Steinberg. However, there was no immediate comment from the State Department after Xu met Steinberg.

Gates in his meeting with Xu at pentagon said breaking the cycle of "on-again, off-again" military-to-military relations between the two countries is of primary importance for both of them.

During the meeting, which lasted for more than an hour, the two leaders spoke about the course of US-Chinese relations, the progress made on military-to-military relations and the military-to-military goals for 2010.