David Helvey, deputy assistant secretary of defense for East Asia, will host the talks with Rear Admiral Li Ji, deputy director of the Chinese ministry of national defense foreign affairs office, according to Pentagon spokesman Marine Corps Lt. Col. Jeff Pool.

The U.S. delegation will include representatives from the Joint Staff, U.S. Pacific Command, the State Department, and the National Security Council staff, Pool said, while the Chinese delegation will include representatives of the Ministry of National Defense and relevant military bodies.

The meeting, the spokesman said, is an important component of the broader program of engagements between the two nations' militaries, which seeks to foster sustained and substantive dialogue, deepen practical cooperation in areas of mutual interest, and focus on enhancing risk reduction.

This year's talks, he added, will emphasize the positive momentum sustained in the U.S.-China military-to-military relationship over the past year, which included historic agreements to establish new confidence building measures between the two militaries, and endorse the robust program of engagements planned for the rest of the year.