China Calls for Better Military Ties

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China Calls for Better Military Ties
January 20, 2009
Associated Press

BEIJING - China's defense ministry urged President-elect Barack Obama on Tuesday to work with Beijing to improve its occasionally tense military relationship with the United States, calling on the Pentagon to "remove obstacles."

Sr. Col. Hu Changming, chief spokesman for the Ministry of National Defense, said China - with one of the world's fastest-growing armed forces - looked forward to smoother relations with Washington and its military, the world's largest.

"At present, when China-U.S. military-to-military relations are faced with difficulties, we call on the U.S. Department of Defense to remove obstacles ... and create favorable conditions for the healthy growth of military relations," Hu said during a news conference held to present a major military policy paper.

China has long opposed U.S. arms sales to Taiwan, and blocking formal independence for self-governing Taiwan remains the military's chief concern, the policy paper said. China also views separatist movements in Tibet and the far western region of Xinjiang as the biggest threats to the country's national security.

"On these matters, we will not compromise," Hu said.


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