Army commander: THAAD would 'easily affect' China-US ties

A Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) interceptor is launched during a successful intercept test, in this undated handout photo provided by the US Department of Defense, Missile Defense Agency. [Photo/Agencies]

China hopes that Washington will "place great priority and properly tackle" its plan to deploy a long-range antimissile system in the Republic of Korea, a senior Chinese military official said on Tuesday.

Li Zuocheng, Commander of the Army of the People's Liberation Army, made the comment when meeting with US Army Chief of Staff Mark Milley in Beijing.

Milley has started his first official visit to Beijing amid lingering tension triggered by the plan to deploy Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system.

The US official is scheduled to visit China, the ROK and Japan from Monday to Aug 23, and in the ROK he will receive an update on plans to deploy the THAAD system there, according to a release by the US Pacific Command issued prior to the visit.

In their first meeting in incumbent posts, Li said the South China Sea issue, the Taiwan Question and the deployment of THHAD would "easily affect the China-US relationship".

The military-to-military ties have contributed greatly to the healthy development of the China-US relationship, and China hopes the two militaries will "boost cooperation, properly tackle differences and manage and control risks", Li said.

Milley told Li that he expects the two militaries to further reinforce exchanges and boost mutual trust.