Hagel Holds First Pentagon Talks with Chinese

WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel is holding his first Pentagon meeting with his Chinese counterpart.

Hagel faces a familiar agenda marked with tensions over U.S. missile defenses, Chinese cyberattacks and other defense issues.

But if talks on Monday follow form, they'll be wrapped in public expressions of goodwill and pledges of cooperation.

China's defense chief is at the Pentagon for a series of meetings. He spent Friday in Hawaii for talks at U.S. Pacific Command.

Hagel is presiding over a Pentagon making a deliberate pivot to Asia after more than a decade of wars in the greater Middle East. Improving ties with China is at the heart of the Obama administration's Asia strategy.

Hagel has accepted China's invitation to visit Beijing next year.