US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates called for deeper military ties with Beijing, telling a top Chinese general on Tuesday that it was time to end a pattern of “on-again, off-again” relations.

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