Military ties with China back on track: Cohen

WASHINGTON, JAN. 28. The United States and China have agreed to resume normal military ties, Defence Secretary Mr. William Cohen said, following two days of meetings at the Pentagon between U.S. and Chinese officials.

``I think we are on track to getting military-to- military relations back at a normal state of affairs,'' Mr. Cohen told mediapersons yesterday.

China broke off military relations with the United States last May after the mistaken U.S. bombing of its embassy in Yugoslavia. Relations are also strained over disagreements on Taiwan and U.S. missile defence projects.

Mr. Cohen said he had a very cordial meeting on Wednesday with People's Liberation Army Lt. Gen. Xiong Guangkai, and that the Chinese officer extended an invitation for Cohen to go to Beijing. Aides believe Mr. Cohen might go to China around April. He last visited China in January, 1998.

Lt. Gen. Xiong headed a Chinese delegation that held about 12 hours of talks, starting on Tuesday morning and ending on Wednesday evening, with the U.S. delegation led by Mr. Walter Slocombe, the Undersecretary of Defence for Policy. Mr. Slocombe said that neither side had changed the other's views on topics of disagreement, such as Taiwan and the Pentagon's effort to build a nationwide defence against long-range missiles.

``There were clear statements of strongly different views on a number of subjects,'' Mr. Slocombe said, adding that there also were areas of agreement, such as the need to prevent North Korea from building nuclear arms. He said Lt. Gen. Xiong raised the issue of the U.S. bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade, ``but it was not a big issue.''

A former head of military intelligence, Lt. Gen. Xiong is one of China's most politically influential generals, and is known for his hard-line views on the United States. He is a member of the ruling Communist Party's committee that makes policy on Taiwan.

- AP

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