China to resume military ties with U.S.

WASHINGTON, JAN. 6. China has agreed to resume high-level military contacts with the United States, which it angrily suspended after U.S. warplanes bombed the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade last May, U.S. Defence officials said on Wednesday.

The deputy chief of the People's Liberation Army's general staff, Lt. Gen. Xiong Guangkai, is scheduled to arrive in Washington on January 24 for two days of talks that senior Pentagon officials hope will revive regular contacts between the U.S. and Chinese militaries. The main goal of the talks will be to arrange a series of exchanges over the coming year, including visits to China first by the Commander of U.S. forces in the Pacific, Adm. Dennis Blair, and then by the Defence Secretary, Mr. William Cohen, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

``The goal this year is to have a modest increase'' in military contacts ``that acknowledges the delicacy of the environment, politically, and to take careful steps given what has transpired,'' a senior Defence official said. Although U.S. officials insisted that the bombing of the Chinese Embassy during NATO's air war against Yugoslavia was an unfortunate accident, China rejected the explanation and suspended talks on trade, human rights and military issues. Three Chinese were killed and 27 injured in the bombing.

But the Chinese animosity began to ease after the U.S. President, Mr. Bill Clinton's meeting with the Chinese President, Mr. Jiang Zemin in New Zealand in September and the Clinton administration's agreement in November on terms for China's entrance to the World Trade Organisation. In December, the U.S. agreed to pay $28 million in compensation for the damage to the Embassy in Belgrade, clearing a final hurdle to a resumption of military contacts. It had already agreed on compensation for the Chinese victims and their families.

The Pentagon has long pressed the People's Liberation Army to open itself to more high-level military contacts, including port visits, officer exchanges and even, someday, joint military exercises. Pentagon officials say that regular contact between the two militaries can ease tensions in the region by providing better insights into each side's strategic thinking and by building confidence and personal relations among officers that can be called on in the event of crises.

Mr. Cohen, who visited China in January 1998, had planned to travel there again last June only to have the trip cancelled. Officials had hoped Mr. Cohen could reschedule the trip as soon as this month, but they now expect a visit later this year. Even before the bombing of the Embassy, the Pentagon's efforts to forge a closer relationship with Chinese military leaders, like the one that has developed with Russian officers, had moved slowly, reflecting China's wariness over issues like the defence of Taiwan and the proposed deployment of national and regional missile defense systems.

A significant resumption of military contacts could depend on domestic politics in both countries. In this year's Defence budget, Congress imposed a series of restrictions on Pentagon relations with China's military, in part because of allegations of Chinese espionage to obtain nuclear secrets. The restrictions prohibit any contact or exchange that would give Chinese officers ``inappropriate exposure'' to U.S. military expertise in everything from logistics to defence against chemical or biological attacks.

The officials said the new restrictions would not prohibit any of the contacts the Pentagon is now considering, such as a ``table top,'' or simulated, military exercise involving a relief operation. In China, too, many senior civilian and military officials remain distrustful of U.S. military objectives in Asia. In recent months, Pentagon officials have sensed a hardening of views toward the U.S. in commentaries by Chinese military officials.

``One of the rationales for more discussions and more interactions between the U.S. and China is that at least the Chinese interlocutors can experience the U.S. in a slightly different way than they might pick up in some of their own propaganda,'' the senior Defence official said. - New York Times

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Section  : International
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