Long critical of interaction with the PLA, the US defence chief's first official trip to Beijing represents a change in stance
US Secretary of Defence Donald Rumsfeld has accepted an invitation to visit the mainland, after turning down numerous such offers in the past. It will be his first mainland visit since being appointed five years ago.
Sources said Mr Rumsfeld made the decision recently with Pentagon officials and was trying to fix an arrival date for late summer or early autumn.
He is expected to meet Defence Minister Cao Gangchuan and President Hu Jintao, who is also chairman of the Central Military Commission.
The announcement comes after PLA Deputy Chief of General Staff Xiong Guangkai's April visit to the Pentagon, during which he met the outgoing deputy defence secretary, Paul Wolfowitz, and Undersecretary of Defence Douglas Feith.
According to the sources, General Xiong discussed Beijing's invitation to Mr Rumsfeld, the nuclear situation in North Korea and new Pentagon assessments of the People's Liberation Army.
The two sides failed to reach agreement on several key issues, including the establishment of a military hotline and the official reimplementation of the 1998 Military Maritime Consultative Agreement, in which the navies agreed to have a formal dialogue to avoid mishaps.
