Chinese Defense Minister Liang Guanglie will meet his U.S. counterpart Robert Gates in Singapore this week at the 10th Asian Security Summit organized by the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies, also known as the Shangri-La Dialogue.

Deputy director of the ministry's foreign affairs office, Guan Youfei, announced the arrangement at a press conference Wednesday for Liang's agenda at the summit, scheduled for June 3 to 5, China Daily reported.

Guan said "this is an indication of the importance China attaches to the preservation and improvement of security in the Asia-Pacific region."

Liang will head a delegation and deliver a speech at the summit for the first time as China strives to cement ties with its neighbors.

The U.S. vowed for an enduring presence in Southeast Asia and asked for deepened cooperation with Beijing in the region, according to the China Daily report.

The meeting between Liang and Gates, on the sidelines of Asia's most prominent security conference, is likely to be the last chance for Liang to meet Gates as U.S. secretary of defense as it is Gates' final trip overseas before he is scheduled to leave his Pentagon post on June 30.

The two met in January this year in Beijing when Gates visited China after proposed U.S. arms deals with Taiwan resulted in frozen military ties between the two countries last year.

Liang will also meet with his counterparts from Singapore and other countries on the sidelines of the meeting.

Guan said the Chinese delegation is comprised of senior officers, scholars and experts and is expected to elaborate on China's national defense policy and its proposition to enhance regional security cooperation.

Defense ministers and military chiefs from 28 Asia-Pacific states will attend the dialogue, which is named after the Shangri-La Hotel in Singapore, where it has been held since 2002.

(China.org.cn June 2, 2011)