US, Chinese defence chiefs seek long-term dialogue (1st Lead)

Jan 10, 2011, 7:19 GMT

Beijing - US Defence Secretary Robert Gates and his Chinese counterpart Monday agreed that their nations should set aside military differences and seek long-term dialogue.

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

'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.

Liang said China-US military relations were 'faced with new opportunities for development together with some difficulties and challenges.'

He said the two nations 'need to work together to expand our shared interests to reduce our differences ... for us to ensure that military relations between our two nations would progress along a sound and steady track.'

Liang hosted an official welcoming ceremony before the talks, which China had postponed for one year after the United States agreed a 6.4-billion-dollar arms package for Taiwan.

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

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 before Monday's talks that 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.

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