BEIJING - A Chinese military delegation left Beijing Thursday morning for the United States to attend the 11th annual round of defense consultations, said China's Ministry of National Defense.

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The delegation, led by Ma Xiaotian, deputy chief of the General Staff of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA), is visiting the United States at the invitation of the US defense ministry, a statement from the ministry said.

The two sides are scheduled to "exchange views on military ties, maritime military security and other international and regional security issues," the statement said.

The annual China-US defense consultations were launched in 1997.