S'pore and China to boost military cooperation
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Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong met with visiting Chinese Defense Minister Cao Gangchuan Thursday at the Istana, the President's official residence.
Singapore and China have seen excellent development of bilateral relations, and cooperation between the two countries in the political, economic, military, trade, tourism and investment fields is going smoothly, Lee said.
He added that the two sides need to maintain close cooperation and explore new ways to deepen their collaboration, pushing their mutually beneficial and cooperative relations to a new high.
Lee reiterated that the Singapore government will adhere to its one-China policy and is opposed to Taiwan's independence.
Cao, who is also vice chairman of the Central Military Commission of China and a State Councilor, said that the China-Singapore relations have grown significantly since the two countries established diplomatic ties and bilateral military exchanges and cooperation are increasing.
To further enhance the friendly and cooperative relations between China and Singapore is in the fundamental interests of peoples of the two countries, Cao said.
He expressed appreciation of the Singapore government's sustained adherence to the one-China policy and its support to China's reunification cause.
Cao arrived here earlier on the day for a three-day official goodwill visit to the city state at the invitation of his Singaporean counterpart Teo Chee Hean.
This is the fourth leg of Cao' tour to five Asian countries, which includes the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Vietnam,Malaysia, and the Republic of Korea. -
Both of them have exchanges but between the RSN n PLAN. I wonder if Spore planned to let SAFOS scholar study in top universities in China since it is aOriginally posted by boy in blues:Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong met with visiting Chinese Defense Minister Cao Gangchuan Thursday at the Istana, the President's official residence.
Singapore and China have seen excellent development of bilateral relations, and cooperation between the two countries in the political, economic, military, trade, tourism and investment fields is going smoothly, Lee said.
He added that the two sides need to maintain close cooperation and explore new ways to deepen their collaboration, pushing their mutually beneficial and cooperative relations to a new high.
Lee reiterated that the Singapore government will adhere to its one-China policy and is opposed to Taiwan's independence.
Cao, who is also vice chairman of the Central Military Commission of China and a State Councilor, said that the China-Singapore relations have grown significantly since the two countries established diplomatic ties and bilateral military exchanges and cooperation are increasing.
To further enhance the friendly and cooperative relations between China and Singapore is in the fundamental interests of peoples of the two countries, Cao said.
He expressed appreciation of the Singapore government's sustained adherence to the one-China policy and its support to China's reunification cause.
Cao arrived here earlier on the day for a three-day official goodwill visit to the city state at the invitation of his Singaporean counterpart Teo Chee Hean.
This is the fourth leg of Cao' tour to five Asian countries, which includes the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Vietnam,Malaysia, and the Republic of Korea.
growing militray power in Asia. -
Ya,
Anybody can clarify the below claim by someone posted in militarynuts board?
http://www.sgforums.com/?action=thread_display&thread_id=186278 -
Not sure about universities exchange between S'pore and China. But China and the United States agreed to boost exchanges between military academies.Originally posted by will4:Both of them have exchanges but between the RSN n PLAN. I wonder if Spore planned to let SAFOS scholar study in top universities in China since it is a
growing militray power in Asia.
"China-US military relations, an important part of overall relations, have seen an increase in exchanges," Liang Guanglie, chief of the General Staff of the People's Liberation Army, told visiting president of the U.S. National Defense University, Michael Dunn.
Liang said Chinese President Hu Jintao's upcoming visit to the United States would exert a great impact on bilateral constructive and cooperative relations.
He hoped the national defense universities of the two countries would step up exchanges and cooperation, contributing more to the sound development of China-US military ties.
Liang also briefed Dunn on China's military building and expounded China's stance on the Taiwan issue.
"Militaries will play a very important role in improving the relations between the United States and China," Dunn said, calling for the increased exchanges between military academies. -
Spore ambassador to China is an Army BG but not sure if he still there.Originally posted by boy in blues:Not sure about universities exchange between S'pore and China. But China and the United States agreed to boost exchanges between military academies.
"China-US military relations, an important part of overall relations, have seen an increase in exchanges," Liang Guanglie, chief of the General Staff of the People's Liberation Army, told visiting president of the U.S. National Defense University, Michael Dunn.
Liang said Chinese President Hu Jintao's upcoming visit to the United States would exert a great impact on bilateral constructive and cooperative relations.
He hoped the national defense universities of the two countries would step up exchanges and cooperation, contributing more to the sound development of China-US military ties.
Liang also briefed Dunn on China's military building and expounded China's stance on the Taiwan issue.
"Militaries will play a very important role in improving the relations between the United States and China," Dunn said, calling for the increased exchanges between military academies. -
Spore got about 89 US troops from their airforce and navy stationed here according to a magazine.
US and China not completely at ease with each other in many respects.
With our current ties with US, Chinese must be courting us... -
this friendly military relationship is just a showoff in external apprearance.
currently singapore is a good ally of US in military and US is the biggest foe to china. how come sg and china are good "military buddies " now!!
cao gangchou also went to US for visit in the past years. but nobody said China and US are friends. hehe -
Cao's playing salesman, because the implicit status quo of American engagement here is becoming more and more likely to be displayed..
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US Secretary of State is paying attention to Indonesia. More aid to fight u know wat...Originally posted by LazerLordz:Cao's playing salesman, because the implicit status quo of American engagement here is becoming more and more likely to be displayed..
Wow the region is eyed by super powers -
Indonesia also a power in her own right.Originally posted by qpicanto:US Secretary of State is paying attention to Indonesia. More aid to fight u know wat...
Wow the region is eyed by super powers -
Has always been, since the days of pre-Srivijaya..till 21st century.History has shown that the Straits of Malacca has always been a place where major powers come together, and the one in the region who can squeeze maximum benefit out of them, can influence beyond this region, even up to the Indian Ocean in the West and HK in the East..Originally posted by qpicanto:US Secretary of State is paying attention to Indonesia. More aid to fight u know wat...
Wow the region is eyed by super powers -
Indonesia had been a pain in a neck for US due to the inability to counter terrorist. U heard the part, Central Sulawesi where there is sectarianOriginally posted by qpicanto:US Secretary of State is paying attention to Indonesia. More aid to fight u know wat...
Wow the region is eyed by super powers
violence, the JI is behind it. -
.Originally posted by will4:Indonesia had been a pain in a neck for US due to the inability to counter terrorist. U heard the part, Central Sulawesi where there is sectarian
violence, the JI is behind it.
Indonesia is really big, too many news from there didnt notice..
Anyway China is great to balance US -
'Pain in the neck' Indonesia offend u is it cool manOriginally posted by will4:Indonesia had been a pain in a neck for US due to the inability to counter terrorist. U heard the part, Central Sulawesi where there is sectarian
violence, the JI is behind it. -
if they becomes friends after today meeting hehe...Originally posted by lovespecter:this friendly military relationship is just a showoff in external apprearance.
currently singapore is a good ally of US in military and US is the biggest foe to china. how come sg and china are good "military buddies " now!!
cao gangchou also went to US for visit in the past years. but nobody said China and US are friends. hehe -
Chinese President Hu Jintao, on his way to talks with President George W. Bush, on Tuesday met with Bill Gates. The summit with Bush, expected to cover trade and moves to avert nuclear advances in North Korea and Iran, was also likely to touch on intellectual property.
"Because you, Mr. Bill Gates, are a friend of China, I'm a friend of Microsoft," Hu said through a translator.
"Also, I am dealing with the operating system produced by Microsoft every day," he added, to laughter.
Gates responded: "Thank you, it's a fantastic relationship," and then said: "And if you ever need advice on how to use Windows, I'll be glad to help."
"China is focused on and has already accomplished much in creating and enforcing laws to protect intellectual property," he said. "We take our promises very seriously."
Hu also said he would certainly welcome a further increase in Microsoft's investment in China.
"I'd also like to take this opportunity to assure you, Bill Gates, that we will certainly honor our words in protecting intellectual property rights," Hu said.
In his whirlwind visit to the Microsoft campus, Hu, accompanied by Gates, company CEO Steve Ballmer and an entourage of Chinese dignitaries, saw some business technology demonstrations and toured Microsoft's Home of the Future, which features experimental technology that might someday be used in people's living spaces.
In one demonstration, a vase outfitted with special technology, called a radio frequency identification tag, prompted screens on a display case to show pictures of areas where Hu has worked and lived.
In the kitchen, the counter displayed a recipe and instructions in Chinese for making focaccia bread, prompting Hu to ask if you still need a housekeeper if you have such advanced technology.
Hu later was greeted by elementary school children from Seattle's John Stanford International School. Using a Tablet PC, with a little bit of help from one of the children, Hu wrote, in Chinese, "Long live the China-American friendship."
Following the meeting at Microsoft, about 100 guests, including former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and former Gov. Gary Locke, the first Chinese-American governor, were invited to Gates' $100 million lakeside mansion on Lake Washington for a dinner.
China has recently begun requiring Chinese computer makers to preload legal software on their machines.
In Seattle's Chinatown, many stores hung Chinese and U.S. flags to welcome Hu, and many in the crowd outside the stately Fairmont Hotel where Hu is staying were there to support the Chinese president, or simply curious about all the fuss.
In Washington, D.C. on Thursday, Hu will lunch at the White House where Bush said he would bring up Iran's nuclear program. Bush wants China to agree to more pressure on Tehran through the U.N. Security Council, something Beijing is resisting.
"I intend of course to bring the subject up of Iranian ambitions to have a nuclear weapon," Bush said on Tuesday. "We'll continue to work diplomatically to get this problem solved." Iran says its program is just for nuclear energy.
Before the visit, China sought to quell U.S. trade complaints by signing contracts worth $16.2 billion while Vice Premier Wu Yi visited the United States last week.
Bush, visiting a school in a Washington D.C. suburb, said China was both a partner and competitor.
"We can either look at China and say, let's compete with China in a fair way, or say, we can't compete with China and therefore kind of isolate ourselves from the world. I've chosen the former route for the United States," the president said.
But U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick said Beijing had been slow in meeting U.S. demands to reform its currency. U.S. officials say the yuan is undervalued, making Chinese exports artificially cheap.
The U.S. claimed that its trade deficit with China totaled $202 billion last year.
Hu also wants Bush to offer some assurance that the United States will restrain Taiwan's independence-leaning "president" Chen Shui-bian, Chinese analysts said. Beijing says the island must accept reunification with the mainland after over half a century of separation.
Before leaving Seattle on Wednesday, Hu will visit Boeing Co.. Shortly before his visit, China signed a deal with the company to buy 80 737 jets worth around $4 billion. -
Forging Stronger US, China Ties is Critical, Says Zoellick
Deputy Secretary of State previews this weekÂ’s meeting between Bush, China's Hu
WASHINGTON, DC - 04/19/06 - The US wants China to be a partner in promoting positive economic and security relations in the international community, according to Deputy Secretary of State and former US Trade Representative Robert Zoellick.
In a speech Monday to the International Institute for Economics in Washington, Zoellick said the upcoming meeting between President Bush and Chinese President Hu Jintao "will not only be a forum for bilateral discussions but will address global issues challenging the international community."
The two leaders are scheduled to hold discussions tomorrow on "issues of mutual interest" including two-way trade and the protection of intellectual property, according to the White House.
Integrating China into the international marketplace had been a goal of US policy for the past two decades, said Zoellick.
"That goal has been advanced with China's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2001 and its incredible economic development," he said.
The future of US-China relations, he said, "depends on forging a partnership between the two countries within the international system, as well as ensuring that China develops as a responsible global partner."
Because of the size of the US and Chinese economies, "both have the capacity to have a positive influence on the international system and can have greater impact if they work as partners rather than individually," he added.
At the same time, though, both countries have domestic considerations that affect bilateral relations, the deputy secretary said.
On the US side, Americans want to see US-China trade as a fair process that benefits both countries, he said, praising recently completed senior-level trade talks between Washington and Beijing during which China agreed to greater market access for US-made goods, as well as more transparency in its economic reporting.
The negotiations - which stretched over six months under the aegis of the US -China Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade (JCCT) - resulted in the Chinese agreeing to reopen its market to US-produced beef; launch negotiations to join the WTO government procurement agreement; require Chinese computers to use legal software; and close optical disk plants that produce pirated CDs and DVDs and stepped up enforcement of IPR.
In addition, Beijing agreed to require all trade-related measures to be published in a single official journal; eliminate barriers to trade in medical devices; and launch a dialogue on the steel industry.
The negotiators also agreed to establish a US-China High Technology and Strategic Trade Working Group under the JCCT to review export control cooperation and facilitate high technology trade.
Among the Group's first activities will reportedly be planning a bilateral export control seminar in China.
Zoellick also welcomed specific actions by the Chinese delegation, which signed contracts for more than $16.2 billion worth of US goods and services.
"This was not merely a single purchase by the Chinese but a signal to the American public of the beginning of a series of mutually beneficial business relations," he said.
In addition, he acknowledged China's pledges to do more to protect intellectual property rights (IPR) and implement a more flexible exchange rate for its currency.
Zoellick said the goal of China's leadership should be to assure the international community that the country's economic growth is "peaceful development" that embraces the international system rather than challenges it.
For example, he said, China's accession to the World Trade Organization demonstrates the country's willingness to play by international rules.
The country's internal economic development, said Zoellick, "is closely linked to its international posture, as China's trade with other countries provides the funding and materials for such development."
China is trying to increase its exports as well as its domestic consumption of goods and services, he said, adding that even though the country has made tremendous economic gains in a short period of time, Chinese leaders are sensitive to the fact that the country as a whole is still in a process of development, especially in its interior and western regions.
As a result, China sees its trade relationship with the US as "absolutely crucial" for maintaining its national economic performance, which in turn deters potential unrest in its society, he said. -
It is a growing military power.Originally posted by qpicanto:.
Indonesia is really big, too many news from there didnt notice..
Anyway China is great to balance US -
Never mind what people in that other Washington say about China, President Hu. Here in this Washington, we love you and your money.Originally posted by will4:It is a growing military power.
You buy our airplanes, our software, our wheat, our lumber, our wine and our lattes.
What trade deficit?
China's President Hu Jintao may have wanted the first leg of his U.S. visit to be a love fest before flying to Washington, D.C., for contentious talks about copyright piracy, trade barriers, his regime's chumminess with Iran and Venezuela, America's $200 billion trade deficit with China and other unpleasantries. If so, he knew what he was doing by stopping in the Seattle area.
Politicians in other parts of the country might bash China for snatching American jobs and technology. But politicians and business people here would be delighted if Hu would show up every week. He is the third Chinese president to visit Washington. He departs the state today after an overnight stay.
"The political, business and what I might call the establishment community here is very atypical of the rest of the country," said David Bachman, professor of Chinese politics and foreign policy at the University of Washington's Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies.
"Partly due to our trade involvement, partly due to the structure of the economy here that matches up well with China's needs, the U.S. relationship with Washington state and China is much more balanced than that of the rest of the country." China is this state's third-largest trading partner.
Americans elsewhere might equate China with the trade deficit and a lack of democracy. But Bachman said: "I think the consensus in Washington state is more of, well, we are going to get those things in a better situation through trade and interaction and so on, and therefore we should continue down the road toward better economic ties" and closer relations.
This state's politicians long have been China boosters. Sens. Warren Magnuson and Henry Jackson were early advocates of normalized relations. Both visited China.
Former Gov. John Spellman established a sister state/province relationship with Sichuan province 25 years ago. Gary Locke, the first American governor of Chinese descent, visited China four times while governor. He led efforts by American governors to gain permanent normal trading status for China and to allow it into the World Trade Organization. Gov. Christine Gregoire led a state trade delegation to China last fall.
China's State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan, the nation's No. 2 official, visited Washington state last July, paving the way for Hu's visit this week. Tang told Gregoire that when officials of China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Beijing want to meet informally, they duck into a Starbucks.
Seattle-based Starbucks expects to have thousands of stores in China within a few years.
"We are more eager than most other states (to build trade with China) because we are the most trade-dependent state in the nation," said Locke, now co-chairman of the China practice group of Seattle's Davis Wright Tremaine law firm. "Virtually one out of every three or four jobs here is tied to international trade, especially exports."
For Hu, part of the payoff of his visit here is burnishing his image among China's leadership by touring Boeing's jetliner factory and hobnobbing with Bill Gates, said the UW's Bachman. "You can't downplay the sort of photo ops it has for him back home."
A Seattle lawyer with international clients is worried about a local "boosterism mentality" toward China, with some business people naively unaware of the pitfalls of selling goods to the Chinese, "who are always expecting the quid pro quo." He requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.
U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen, D-Wash., is co-founder and co-chairman of the China-United States Working Group in the House. He said he tells people in the capital "that China isn't the Far East; it's my Near West.
"From where I am, it's in my back yard, and it's good to know what's going on in your back yard," said Larsen, whose 2nd District includes Boeing's Everett plant, which Hu is to tour today. Larsen will be there.
Some of Larsen's congressional colleagues feel much less neighborly toward China. Those from Southeastern states believe they've lost textile jobs to Third World countries, including China. Some in Rust Belt states blame the loss of manufacturing jobs partly on China.
"It's easy to point to the trade deficit and the currency issues as the main culprits, so the differences come mainly from where you sit in the country," Larsen said. "There are more people in Congress who feel their areas have been negatively impacted through our relations with China than feel (their districts) have been positively impacted."
A Zogby poll in 2004 and 2005 indicated that 59 percent of Americans and 63 percent of American business leaders viewed China favorably, but only 19 percent of congressional staff members perceived it that way. The poll was done for the Committee of 100, a non-partisan organization of prominent Americans of Chinese descent.
Larsen's district includes a large number of Boeing workers whose jobs are affected by how many jetliners China buys, but also a large number of military personnel aware of the security issues posed by China's growing economic and military power.
To Larsen, "the U.S.-China relationship will be and ought to be the primary diplomatic relationship of this century."
"If you were to walk the House floor," he said, "I think you would see some Republicans who are very wary of China because of national security issues, and you'd see some Democrats who are very wary of China because of economic issues.
"Having said that, I think the Washington state delegation sees the relationship between Washington state and China as one that benefits us overall, and that we want to take actions that would continue that beneficial relationship." -
Chinese President Hu Jintao shone diplomatically during a choreographed Seattle visit Tuesday -- winning over Washington business and political leaders with promises to bolster trade and relations with the state.
Gov. Christine Gregoire emerged from an afternoon meeting with Hu clearly buoyed. Gregoire said she asked him to consider opening a trade office in this state, hosting a Pacific Rim health care meeting and boosting education ties.
"He's very proud of the very warm friendship and warm relationship between China and Washington state," she said.
Exports from Washington to China totaled about $5 billion last year, a significant increase from 2004, according to Hu, who said the trade partners share common interests in science, technology and education.
Besides Gregoire, Hu and his ministers also met with other top state officials, including University of Washington President Mark Emmert. Also present was U.S. Ambassador to China Clark Randt Jr.
In the ornate Congress Room of the Fairmont Olympic Hotel, Hu announced in Mandarin, "I'm extremely happy (about) being in Seattle."
Hu later toured part of Microsoft's Redmond campus, walking in on a red carpet to loud applause from employees. He praised the company for its technological innovations, promised that China would fulfill its recent promises to combat software piracy, and encouraged Microsoft to boost its investment and involvement in China.
"I certainly look forward to the extension of your cooperation with China," Hu told Gates, according to an Associated Press pool report.
China's president spent the evening attending a banquet in his honor at Gates' palatial Medina home, attended by about 100 state government, community and business leaders.
Guests ranged from Howard Schultz, the Starbucks chairman, to Henry Kissinger, the former U.S. secretary of state, who is scheduled to meet with Hu today. Gates, Gregoire and former Gov. Gary Locke spoke, and the guests raised glasses of Dom Perignon to toast the Chinese president, according to a Reuters pool report.
Gregoire alluded to Hu's next stop, which could prove considerably more difficult -- asking him to "please share with President Bush that you have been a part of and seen and visited and shared in the real Washington."
Through a translator, Hu called Washington state "a pioneer in the U.S. trading alliance with China" and noted that the state is "closer to China than any other place on mainland United States."
Kicking off his historic four-day U.S. visit, his first as president, the Chinese leader arrived at Everett's Paine Field at 10:40 a.m. Tuesday.
Several hundred Chinese Americans from the Northwest waved U.S. and Chinese flags. They cheered as Hu and his wife, Liu Yongqing, stepped off their gleaming white Air China Boeing 747-400 under sunny skies.
Greeting him were more than a dozen dignitaries, including Gregoire, Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., Locke, Schultz and Alan Mulally, Boeing commercial airplane president.
Surrounded by an entourage of aides and a security detail, Hu later worked the edge of the crowd, shaking hands with well-wishers.
"I'm very happy," said Gary Deng of Seattle, who wore a lapel pin with the flags of both nations and waited more than two hours to catch a glimpse of Hu. "I'm an American citizen, but I'm Chinese."
Hu is a strong president who is bringing China "recognition in a good way," said Dill Chin of Seattle, a retired photographer.
"China always has been a peaceful, loving country" and Hu will help strengthen it, said Ed Chan of Portland, a retired executive.
More than a dozen demonstrators held signs outside the entrance to Paine Field, criticizing the Chinese government's suppression of Falun Gong, a spiritual movement.
"If they are really being persecuted for no reason, it shouldn't be continued," Chan said, but suppression is warranted if the movement is "not helping people's progress."
Welcoming Hu were seven lion and two dragon dance teams from the Seattle Kung Fu Club and five pink-clad girls who performed a ribbon dance.
Performing for China's president is "a once-in-a-lifetime type of opportunity," said Pierre Davis, a longtime club member and Seattle police lieutenant.
Or, as 7-year-old club member Thomas Bourns of Renton put it, "I think that's cool."
After Hu departed Paine Field in a caravan of limousines, Mulally told reporters that he was looking forward to introducing Hu to Boeing employees during a tour today.
"The more you get to know each other, the more you find in common," Mulally said. He described simply what China and the United States have in common: "economic development."
Falun Gong demonstrators gathered outside the Seattle hotel, broadcasting messages in both languages. They were flanked by Hu supporters.
"Our mission is to bridge the gap between China and the U.S., and there are too many gaps," said one booster, Peter Zhou of Seattle.
Falun Gong follower Chung Lim of San Francisco had a different message. "We want to convey the message that the Chinese Communist Party has been persecuting us," she said. "Please stop this atrocity."
Ping Li, 47, who came to Seattle from China's Hebei Province, praised the visit as "great for the Chinese leadership. It's the first visit to America to symbolize a more active role in world affairs."
"Because he is a great leader in China, I am very proud of him," said Wei Ye, head of the Chinese Students and Scholars Association at the University of Southern California.
But dozens of Tibetan activists were also on the streets, chanting "China ... out of Tibet!"
Jamyang Dorjee, 34, of Bothell, said Hu, a former Communist Party leader in Tibet, bears some responsibility for human rights atrocities and a continuing lack of religious freedom there. "He's going to hear there's opposition to what China's doing in Tibet," Dorjee said.
Outside Microsoft's campus, more protesters gathered, but three red, Chinese-language banners hanging from the conference center welcomed Hu. Several dozen people, many of them Microsoft employees originally from China, stood across from the conference center waving Chinese flags.
Hu was greeted by Gates and led down a red carpet, past dozens of Microsoft employees. The two men paused for several seconds to shake hands for two rows of cameras.
The subject of Hu's trip was also raised by Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer during an address Tuesday to the Western Washington University Seattle Business Forum.
"We're certainly honored at Microsoft to have a chance to welcome him, to host him, and to have a chance to share some of the excitement and innovation going on in our industry."
Microsoft's growth in China was likely a topic of Hu's visit with the company. But Ballmer sought to calm local fears about Microsoft's overseas expansion, reiterating the company's past assurances that "the lion's share" of its growth will continue to come in its home region.
Added to today's schedule is the meeting with Kissinger, former national security adviser Brent Scowcroft and others to discuss U.S.-China relations.
The Washington, D.C.-based think tank, Center for Strategic and International Studies, organized the meeting. Participants will talk about China's rise and implications for the United States, said Carola McGiffert, a center fellow.
Kissinger, a Nobel Prize winner who leads an influential consulting firm, was one of the key diplomats in the Nixon administration in normalizing relations with China. Scowcroft, a general, served under President George H.W. Bush.
Hu is scheduled to meet with President Bush on Thursday. -
U.S. Pacific Commander Pitches Partnership to Chinese Leaders
11 May 2006 (Bloomberg) -- The top U.S. commander in the Pacific urged Chinese leaders in Beijing to improve communications and beef up exchange programs of officers as a way to strengthen ties.
Admiral William Fallon, head of Pacific Command, made the pitch in back-to-back meetings in the Chinese capital yesterday with General Ge Zhengfeng, deputy chief of staff, and Cao Gangchuan, the defense minister, both of whom welcomed the recommendations.
``Our two countries should get along well,'' Cao told Fallon. ``Our younger officers, they should know more about each other.''
The meetings came near the start of a weeklong tour of China by Fallon, his second such trip since taking over command of U.S. military operations in the Pacific region last year, an area that covers about half of the globe.
Fallon's trip, which also has diplomatic overtones, includes cultural stops at the Great Wall and the terra cotta warriors of Xian.
It was the first high-level U.S. contact between the two countries since President Hu Jintao met with President George W. Bush in Washington last month. Bush and Hu also discussed the prospect of broadening military exchanges.
Ge said it was important for Chinese and U.S. officials to deepen their relationship. The admiral invited Cao to send officers to observe a major U.S. naval and air force joint exercise in the Pacific in June, as a way of demonstrating the U.S. commitment to ``transparency'' in its military operations, he said.
In an interview aboard his plane en route to China on May 8, Fallon said he was disappointed the U.S. wasn't invited to observe a joint Chinese-Russian exercise last year.
Fallon also urged China to take part in a meeting of Pacific regional commanders later this year in Kuala Lumpur.
Fallon's discussions in China come amid heightened concern in Washington about the military buildup in the most populous country, which is also the fastest-growing major developing- nation economy.
A 2005 congressionally mandated annual report on Chinese military power documented an expanding arsenal of ballistic and cruise missiles, submarines and advanced aircraft. It determined that the Chinese People's Liberation Army ``is modernizing its forces, emphasizing preparations to fight and win short- duration, high-intensity conflicts along China's periphery.''
The U.S. assessment said if the trend continues, the capabilities of China ``could pose a credible threat to other modern militaries operating in the region.''
China puts its military budget at $35 billion this year, while U.S. officials have speculated the actual spending could be close to three times that amount.
Fallon noted that the U.S. and China could jointly ``solve some of those challenges that abound in the region,'' echoing a theme put forth by Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick last year that China ought to behave like a ``responsible stakeholder'' in the world system.
``There is much that we can potentially do together,'' Fallon said. -
where got ally, singapore suck usa balls only. a tiny red dot uncle sam will chuck aside once its lost its usefulness. ally is a good word for annexing and securing a pivotal position in the south china sea.Originally posted by lovespecter:this friendly military relationship is just a showoff in external apprearance.
currently singapore is a good ally of US in military and US is the biggest foe to china. how come sg and china are good "military buddies " now!!
cao gangchou also went to US for visit in the past years. but nobody said China and US are friends. hehe