China on Friday called on the United States to "handle carefully" sensitive issues such as arms sale to Taiwan and contribute to the development of military-to-military relations between the two countries.

Senior Colonel Geng Yansheng, spokesman of China's Ministry of National Defense

Senior Colonel Geng Yansheng, spokesman of China's Ministry of National Defense made the call after being asked to comment on the possibility of military- to-military exchanges between the two countries in the near future after U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton talked at length about U.S. "national interests" in the South China Sea recently.

China has attached great importance to and has taken a positive attitude towards the development of military relations between the two countries, Geng said, adding China has made unremitting efforts in this regard.

He urged the U.S. to create "favorable environment and conditions" to promote military- to-military relations between the countries.

In January, China cut off some military exchanges with the U.S. following the Pentagon's decision to sell a nearly 6.4-billion-U.S.-dollar arms package to Taiwan, an inalienable part of China.

Subsequently, none of the planned high-level visits between the two militaries have been possible over the last six months.