In a meeting with General Xu Caihou, China's second-ranking officer, Gates stressed the need to preserve a dialogue between the US and Chinese militaries regardless of disputes or policy differences, Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell said.

"There is a need to break the on-again-off-again cycle of our military-to-military relationship," said Morrell, briefing reporters on the defense secretary's meeting with Xu.

The talks marked the highest level visit by the Chinese military since 2006, as Beijing has sometimes pulled back from military contacts objecting to US arm sales to Taiwan and to US surveillance ships off China's waters.

In the past, there has been progress "and then there will be a hiccup that will cause there to be a suspension in mil-to-mil relations," Morrell said.

Xu's week-long visit is the latest in a long effort to improve US-Chinese military ties, which have lagged behind economic and diplomatic ties -- veering over the past decade between periods of crisis and brief spells of wary engagement.

Xu was open to bolstering military cooperation but cited obstacles such as the presence of US surveillance ships in waters that Beijing deems an economic exclusion zone, officials said.

Gates portrayed the military dialogue as a crucial way of airing differences over maritime law or other issues, said a defense official who asked not to be named.

"We ought to be able to talk about those policy disagreements in an appropriate setting, but the important thing is we shouldn't let those policy disagreements lead us to take actions that might precipitate a crisis or undermine the entire bilateral relationship," the official told reporters.

Beijing cut military exchanges with Washington for months last year over a proposed 6.5-billion-dollar US arms package to Taiwan, but agreed to resume them in February.

Xu supported more military contacts, Morrell said, inviting Gates to visit China in coming months as well as the top US military officer, Admiral Mike Mullen, and the head of US Pacific Command, Admiral Robert Willard.

"He was very receptive to the notion put forth by Secretary Gates that we need to increase opportunities for cooperation and military exchanges," including educational exchanges for junior officers and senior non-commissioned officers, Morrell said.

"This was by all measures a good and productive meeting," he said.

Gates, who hosted Xu for dinner on Monday evening, had pushed for months for the visit and has called for dialogue between the two countries' military leaders to build trust and avoid "miscalculations."

In the meeting that lasted more than an hour, Gates also praised China for taking steps to show more transparency in its defense spending, citing reports that Beijing had issued, Morrell said.

The United States has repeatedly urged China to be more transparent about its military spending, warning of a shifting balance of power in the Asia Pacific region that could cause misunderstanding.

Gates and Xu also discussed diplomacy over Iran and North Korea's nuclear programs, and there was "broad agreement" about the situation in Afghanistan, Morrell said.

The meeting came a day after Xu sought to reassure US concerns over its hi-tech weaponry, insisting that Beijing's military modernization was designed only to meet minimum defense requirements.

In a speech in September, Gates said China's increasingly advanced weaponry could undermine US military power in the Pacific, as American aircraft carriers and short-range fighter jets faced potential threats from Chinese missiles and anti-ship systems.

The general's visit comes ahead of US President Barack Obama's first trip to China November 15-18.

Rainy weather forced the Pentagon to scale back a military welcoming ceremony for Xu, who has been invited on an elaborate tour of major US bases and command centers across the country this week.

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