Chairman of U.S.Joint Chief of Staff visits China

Marine Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, arrived in Beijing on Thursday for a four-day visit, the latest sign of the warming ties between the two armed forces.

Invited by Chief of the General Staff of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Liang Guanglie, Pace is the first high-ranking U.S. military officer to visit China this year.

"Your visit is one of the most important items of the China-U.S. military exchanges this year," Liang told Pace Thursday afternoon following a welcoming ceremony.

"I agreed with you this visit is very important for the two countries. I truly believe the future is very great for both China and the United States," Pace said before the closed-door talks began in Bayi Building, the seat of the Central Military Commission (CMC), China's top military authority.

Pace said he and Liang should "help each other, understand each other and find ways to do good things for the future of the two countries."

Liang said the overall China-U.S. military ties enjoy "good momentum of stable development", citing the progress on high-level exchanges between military institutions.

He said China would like to further military exchanges with the United States at various levels.

Liang said Taiwan is an inalienable part of the Chinese territory and the Taiwan issue has a bearing on China's core interests and the sentiments of the 1.3 billion Chinese people.

"We have been keeping a close watch on the Taiwan secessionists' actions and attempts," Liang was quoted as saying in a statement issued by Chinese Defense Ministry after the meeting.

"We will make our utmost efforts to safeguard the stability of the Taiwan Strait and push for a peaceful unification of the motherland," he said.

Later Thursday afternoon, Pace also met separately with Guo Boxiong and Cao Gangchuan, both vice chairmen of the CMC.

"The current China-U.S. military ties are not easy to come by, thus the two sides should treasure it," Guo said.

Guo also briefed Pace on China's road of peaceful development and defense policy.

Cao, also China's Defense Minister, said China pursues a defense policy which is defensive in nature, and that China's defense spending is moderate.

Pace said the U.S. government will adhere to the one-China policy and hoped the Taiwan issue will be resolved peacefully, according to the statement of Chinese Defense Ministry.

This is also Pace's first China visit since he was sworn in as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in 2005.

Pace will also hold a seminar with researchers with the PLA Military Science Academy on Friday.

The four-day visit will also take Pace to China's military areas and institutions.

Pace will meet with leaders of the Shenyang and Nanjing Military Areas.

Pace's visit is part of the growing high-level visits between Chinese and U.S. armed forces over the past years.

Guo Boxiong paid a week-long visit to the United States last July at the invitation of U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. He was the highest-ranking Chinese military officer to visit the United States since 2001.

William Fallon, Commander of U.S. forces in the Pacific, came last May and August. He invited a Chinese delegation to observe a U.S. military exercise in Guam last June, the first invitation of its kind extended by the United States.

The defense departments of the two countries restored a series of consultation mechanisms on maritime security, humanitarian disaster relief and military-related environmental protection.

A breakthrough in China-U.S. military ties was the first-ever China-U.S. joint search-and-rescue exercise last year.

Analysts, however, said there remain some "obstacles" preventing China-U.S. military ties from going forward, which include the Taiwan issue.

In late February, the U.S. Department of Defense announced that it plans to sell to Taiwan over 400 missiles worth of 421 million U.S. dollars. The proposed sale will include Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air missiles, Maverick missiles, as well as spare parts and maintenance equipment.

The U.S. congress passed some bills limiting military exchanges with China, as represented by the 2000 Fiscal Year Defense Authorization Act.

Source: Xinhua