US, Chinese defence chiefs meet to defuse past wrangles

Jan 9, 2011, 4:44 GMT

Beijing - US Defence Secretary Robert Gates met his Chinese counterpart Monday for talks that were aimed at expanding strategic dialogue and building long-term trust between the two nations.

Chinese Defence Minister Liang Guanglie hosted an official welcoming ceremony before their talks, which China had postponed for one year over US arms sales to Taiwan.

'There are many areas where we have mutual interests and can work together,' Gates said between two closed sessions of talks with Liang.

'And those areas where we have disagreements, those disagreements are best dealt with through constant dialogue and discussion with one another and transparency, and you can count on us to do our part,' Gates said.

China's official Xinhua news agency on Monday said Gates' visit was 'expected to provide an opportunity for the two countries to improve military ties, which suffered some frictions over the past year.'

During his three-day visit, Gates planned to discuss 'strategies and policies and outlooks' with Chinese leaders, the US Department of Defence said earlier.

The United States is aiming to restart joint military exercises that China suspended last year after China objected to US arms sales to Taiwan. China and Taiwan split at the end of a civil war in 1949, and Beijing considers the island to be a renegade province.

Greater transparency between the two nations was also an aim of the visit, Gates said earlier.

Some US officials said they were concerned that China is hiding the extent of its military capabilities. Some analysts said they believe real defence spending could be double Beijing's official 2010 figure of 76.3 billion dollars.

China is also further along in the development of a stealth aircraft than the US had predicted, and Gates said he was concerned about the country's development of anti-ship cruise and ballistic missiles.

In turn, recent US moves to consolidate relationships with other Asian countries have worried China's leadership because of its ongoing territorial disputes in the region.

Gates was also expected to push China for greater cooperation in dealing with North Korean aggression.

He was scheduled to travel to Japan and South Korea after his talks in Beijing.

Read more about China Diplomacy

Read more about US