China's second-highest ranking officer will be at Camp Smith on Monday for meetings with Adm. Robert Willard, the commander of U.S. Pacific Command, officials said.

The visit to the U.S. by Gen. Xu Caihou, vice chairman of the People's Liberation Army Central Military Commission, is part of a hoped-for thaw in relations between the U.S. and China after a year of limited contact.

Xu's visit represents the highest-level visit by a Chinese military official since 2006. Beijing halted military-to-military relations with Washington last year to protest a $6.5 billion U.S. arms sale to Taiwan.

In a meeting Tuesday at the Pentagon, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates told Xu there is a need to break the "on-again, off-again" cycle of the two nations' military-to-military relationship.

The U.S. continues to seek a greater understanding of China's military intentions in the region and better communication to avoid a misunderstanding that could lead to conflict.

Gates listed a number of areas where the U.S. and China could cooperate, including humanitarian operations, disaster relief, maritime security, counter-piracy, counter-proliferation and counter-narcotics.

Willard, who is new to the top military job in the Pacific as head of U.S. Pacific Command, recently said the U.S. is closely watching China's military might after years of underestimating its abilities.

Willard said American officials are seeking to reforge U.S.-China ties from enlisted troops all the way up the chain of command.

"We've commenced dialogue where we can," Willard said while he was in Seoul, South Korea, to attend annual defense ministers' talks.

Willard cited uncertainty and concern among Asian allies over what he called an unprecedented military buildup by China over the last year. He said U.S. intelligence estimates have underestimated China's abilities annually over the past decade.

"They've grown at an unprecedented rate," he said.

China last year broke off military talks with the U.S. after the administration of then-President George W. Bush approved the arms sale to Taiwan, the self-governing island Beijing considers a renegade province.

As its military has grown, Chinese ships have repeatedly harassed U.S. Navy surveillance vessels collecting intelligence off China's southeastern coast and Chinese submarines have pursued aircraft carrier battle groups.

Willard said the U.S. claims it has the right to operate military and commercial ships in those waters — a point of international law that China disputes.

"We have no intention of doing any differently," he said.

However, the issue is among the topics at the top of any discussion between the U.S. and China, he said.

"It's something they're vocal about now," Willard said. "We're more than happy to sit down and have an adult discussion about our differences."