As China and the United States vow to forge closer ties between their militaries, frequent high-level visits between the two militaries are becoming essential in deepening their mutual trust and avoiding strategic misjudgments.

The visit to the US this week by Cai Yingting, deputy chief of the general staff of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, marks a step forward in keeping this desirable momentum going.

It's good to see both countries working in concert to promote military exchanges and maintain normal military relations. Cai's trip comes after Liang Guanglie, chief of the general staff of the PLA, paid a weeklong visit to the US in May. Liang's tour, the first by a Chinese defense chief in nine years, was widely perceived as being a landmark event of its kind in relations between China and the US.

As a result of the US' arms sales to Taiwan, which is an inalienable part of China, Sino-US military relations have by and large remained dormant in the past decade. A series of official high-level visits since 2010 has given impetus to the resumption of military exchanges.

China and the US have everything to gain from their two militaries deepening their understanding of each other and building more strategic mutual trust. To this end, each party should respect the central interests of the other.

Yet, through a series of events that have occurred at China's doorstep this month, the US is sending out mixed messages, raising doubts over whether the US wants to work with China in a candid way.

This week, the superpower has staged military drills with Japan and the Republic of Korea in the region. Given that tensions are now rising between China and Japan over the Diaoyu Islands, the US-Japan military exercise signals that Washington is throwing its military weight behind Tokyo.

Earlier this month, Washington went further in meddling in the South China Sea and issued unwarranted criticisms against China's establishment of Sansha city. All these moves only bolster the popular perception that the US is trying to contain China's rise in the region.

Prominent US officials have insisted that is not the case.

Whatever they say, it's clear that sending mixed and complicated signals about important regional issues is not the way to pass on messages to China and the region as a whole. Worse, it could lead to strategic misjudgments and have adverse effects on regional peace and stability.