China, US defense chiefs agree to upgrade military ties
(Xinhus)
Updated: 2005-10-19 21:40

Chinese Defense Minister Cao Gangchuan and his US counterpart Donald Rumsfeld agreed in their talks on Wednesday to join hands to upgrade Sino-US military ties and make it consistent with overall bilateral relations.

US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld (L) and Chinese Defense Minister Cao Gangchuan share a light moment as they attend a welcoming ceremony at the Chinese Defense Ministry in Beijing October 19, 2005. [Reuters]

At a press briefing after their official talks, both said the talks were "candid", "constructive" and "fruitful."

Cao said China attaches great importance to Rumsfeld's visit, which is a big event of Sino-US military exchanges.

During the talks, the two officials discussed the future development of Sino-US state and military relations and international and regional issues of common concern. Cao said they reached lots of consensus.

"The relations between our two countries are progressing well. We need to join hands and work hard to make Sino-US military ties consistent with state-to-state relations," Cao told reporters.

Responding to a question concerning China's military spending, Cao said China is not vastly increasing military spending as the priority is to develop its economy and improve the livelihood of the people. It is simply impossible to massively increase investment in defense building.

According to the newly-adjusted exchange rate between Renminbi and US dollar, the defense budget of China this year is 30.2 billion US dollars. "That is the true budget figure we have today," he said.

Rumsfeld said US-China military ties have encountered some challenges in recent years. However, it offers opportunities to learn from and better understand each other.

He said the two countries' military exchanges and interactions will be mutually beneficial. Both sides have the desire to find ways to eliminate sense of mystery of each other, and increase mutual understanding.

Rumsfeld arrived in Beijing on Tuesday for a three-day visit asa guest of Cao. This is his first visit to China as defense secretary since he took office in January 2001, and the second visit by a US defense secretary since 2000.