President Hu Jintao
and Defense Minister Cao
Gangchuan each met with visiting United States Defense
Secretary Donald Rumsfeld on Wednesday in Beijing. Both sides have
agreed to make concerted efforts to further promote relations
between the two nations and their armies.
Hu, also chairman of the Central Military Commission, said that
China-US relations have seen good growth on the whole.
Hu described bilateral cooperation in economy and trade,
anti-terrorism, nonproliferation of nuclear weapons and United
Nations reform as "fruitful".
"When we met in New York not long ago, President George W. Bush
and I reached an important consensus on pushing forward
comprehensive Sino-US relations in the 21st century, which is of
great significance in furthering bilateral ties", Hu said.
He pointed out that China and the US are both very influential
nations with commensurate responsibilities in safeguarding world
peace and promoting common development.
"China attaches great importance to relations with the US and is
willing to join hands with the US to further implement the three China-US
joint communiqués", Hu said.
Hu also voiced his hope that the two defense departments would
work towards improving relations between the two armed forces.
Rumsfeld echoed Hu's remarks on the significance for the US and
China in furthering relations and strengthening cooperation with
mutual benefits on important international issues.
He also congratulated China on its successful launch of a second
manned spacecraft, the Shenzhou
VI.
Also on Wednesday, Defense Minister Cao Gangchuan met with
Rumsfeld and agreed to upgrade Sino-US military ties.
At a press briefing, both said the talks were "candid",
"constructive" and "fruitful."
Responding to a question concerning China's military spending,
Cao said China is not vastly increasing military spending as its
priority is to develop its economy and improve the livelihood of
its people.
According to the adjusted exchange rate of the Renminbi against
the US dollar, China's defense budget for this year is US$30.2
billion. "That is the budget figure we have today," Cao 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 increase mutual understanding.
Rumsfeld arrived in Beijing on Tuesday for a three-day visit as
Cao's guest. This is his first visit to China as Defense Secretary
since he took office in January 2001, and the second by a US
Defense Secretary since 2000.
(Xinhua News Agency October 20, 2005)
