http://www.spacewar.com/reports/China_stealth_jet_upstages_US_defence_chiefs_visit_999.html
China stealth jet upstages US defence chief's visit
US Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Wednesday toured China's nuclear command centre to end what he called a "very successful" visit -- one upstaged by a bold display of Beijing's advanced weaponry.
Gates got a rare look at the Second Artillery Corps headquarters outside Beijing, which oversees nuclear and missile forces -- a stop meant to underscore China's readiness to recast uneasy military ties.
The Pentagon chief said he had "very candid conversations" during his tour of the facility in Qinghe and spoke to Chinese officers about nuclear strategy.
Chinese defence ministry official Guan Youfei was cited by state media as saying the tour had been organised at Gates' request, and was part of efforts to build "mutual trust and eliminate misunderstandings and miscalculations".
Gates' four-day trip to China was designed to promote a more cooperative relationship with the country's top brass before President Hu Jintao visits Washington next week.
But instead the test flight of a new Chinese stealth fighter stole the show.
As Gates met Hu and other top officials on Tuesday, Chinese state media published photos that were said to show the debut flight of the J-20, the country's first radar-evading combat aircraft.
The timing of the flight appeared to be a snub to Washington, fuelling the sense of a military rivalry despite positive statements from both governments aimed at defusing tensions over US arms sales to Taiwan and maritime disputes.
The incident illustrated the Asian juggernaut's confidence and also raised questions about the role of its military, as a senior US defence official said Hu and other top civilians apparently were unaware of the test flight.
Gates in the past has described the Chinese military as taking a harder line towards Washington than the country's civilian leaders, suggesting the generals have undermined efforts to improve defence ties.
But on Wednesday, he played down any tension over the test flight, or any possibility of a rift between the People's Liberation Army and the Communist leadership.
"The civilian leadership seemed surprised by the test and assured me that it had nothing to do with my visit," Gates told reporters as he visited the Great Wall following the command centre tour.
"What came across to me was that both the civilian and military leadership seem determined to carry this relationship further and to build upon it," he said.
"Are there those who have issues with it? Possibly. But I certainly didn't meet them on my trip."
Guan, the Chinese defence ministry official, insisted the modernisation of China's military hardware was "not aimed at any other country or any specific target".
The Pentagon chief meanwhile characterised his talks in Beijing as part of a "step-by-step process" to build stronger defence ties.
Gates is the second Pentagon chief to tour the Second Artillery Corps headquarters. His predecessor, Donald Rumsfeld, visited the site in 2005. The Chinese have rebuffed US requests to tour some other sensitive command posts.
General Xu Caihou, vice chairman of the military commission, made an equivalent visit to US Strategic Command in 2009 as part of a tour of American bases.
Gates said he had invited General Jing Zhiyuan, commander of the Second Artillery Corps, to visit US Strategic Command and the general accepted.
Gates, who used to travel to Beijing out of the public eye when he served as a top CIA officer, described seeing the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall as a "a great, fitting end to what I consider a very successful visit."
Gates was headed to Tokyo on Wednesday, and then Seoul on Friday, for meetings focused on North Korea.
earlier related report
Gates meets Hu as US, China play down rivalry
Beijing (AFP) Jan 11, 2011 - US Defense Secretary Robert Gates met Chinese President Hu Jintao on Tuesday as their two countries attempt to defuse military tensions before Hu makes a key visit to Washington next week.
The pair shook hands as flash bulbs popped in the Great Hall of the People in central Beijing and then took pains to highlight improvements in uneasy Sino-US military
ties, suspended a year ago over US arms sales to Taiwan.
Hu said the visit by Gates, his first since 2007, symbolised the "new progress" in defence relations and said the Pentagon chief's meetings had allowed the two sides to exchange ideas "in a very candid manner".
Gates in turn expressed greetings from US President Barack Obama, whom Hu will meet in Washington on January 19, and said his meetings had resulted in advances toward the "long-term improvement" of military ties.
"We believe that President Hu Jintao's visit next week will be a major step forward in the US-China relationship," Gates said earlier at talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi.
His spokesman Hong Lei said China hoped the two sides would "take effective and concrete measures to safeguard the political basis for military-to-military relations so that they will develop on a sound and stable track."
However, the Pentagon chief's visit so far has produced no breakthroughs on sensitive defence issues and no sign from Beijing that it was ready to overlook Washington's sale of billions of dollars in arms and weaponry to Taipei.
"China's position has been clear and consistent. We are against it," the defence minister, General Liang Guanglie, said Monday, referring to the US deals with self-ruled Taiwan.
With an increasingly powerful China pushing to assert itself in the Pacific and the Americans vying to retain a dominant role in the region, US officials are anxious to build up a dialogue to avoid potential crises.
Washington's military relations with China have lagged behind trade and diplomatic ties, and Gates hopes to nudge the Chinese towards an approach similar to Cold War-era exchanges between the Americans and the Soviets.
But Gates' appeals over the past four years for a permanent security dialogue have failed to persuade Chinese generals, who resent the arms deals with Taiwan and the US naval presence in the South China Sea.
After Monday's talks, the Chinese backed more military exchanges but stopped short of endorsing a US proposal for a "strategic dialogue" focusing on nuclear, missile defence, space and cyber-weaponry, agreeing only to study the idea.
Gates -- a former CIA director -- will get a rare glimpse on Wednesday of the Second Artillery Corps headquarters, the command centre for China's nuclear and missile arsenal.
China's pursuit of advanced anti-ship missiles and other weapons have US officials worried, seeing it as a threat to America's naval reach in the Pacific.
The United States, however, has little leverage as China flexes its newfound economic and military muscle. Washington is grappling with mounting fiscal pressures, cutting back some weapons programmes while waging a costly war in Afghanistan.
The rivalry between the Asian juggernaut and the stretched superpower is fuelling an arms race, though Chinese military leaders insist the modernisation effort is purely for the country's defence.
In response to China's military investments, Gates said Sunday before arriving that he had proposed funding for new radar, unmanned naval aircraft and other weaponry.
Japan last month labelled Beijing's military build-up a global "concern", citing its increased assertiveness in the East and South China Seas.
Gates said earlier his discussions would cover recent tensions on the Korean peninsula, including China's role in helping to ease a crisis that began after Pyongyang's deadly shelling of a South Korean island in November.
After his visit to China, Gates heads to Tokyo on Wednesday and Seoul on Friday for meetings focused on the Korean crisis.
