US and Chinese defense officials plan to set up a joint task force to deal with issues of mutual concern, but weapons sales to Taiwan will not be part of the agenda, an unnamed Pentagon official said on Wednesday.

The official’s statement came after Chinese media reported that the US has given a “positive response” to a proposal to discuss the arms sales with China.

Chinese media reports quoted Rear Admiral Guan Youfei (關友飛), who spoke to Chinese journalists on Tuesday in Washington, where Chinese Minister of Defense Chang Wanquan (常萬全) had met with US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel a day earlier.