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In another sign of closer links between the China and the US military Guo Boxiong, vice chairman of China's Central Military Commission (CMC), left Beijing Sunday to visit America.

Guo, invited by US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, is the highest-ranking military officer to visit since 2001.He ranks second to Chairman Hu Jintao in the 11-member CMC which is the country's top military authority.

China-US military ties were broken off in 2001 when a Chinese fighter aircraft was damaged by a US surveillance plane over the South China Sea.

Guo's visit comes when China-US military relations are "at their best since 2001," said Qian Lihua, deputy director of Foreign Affairs Office of Chinese Defense Ministry. Qian said Guo's US visit is "the most important Chinese military exchange with another country this year."

On his stay in Washington, Guo will hold talks with Rumsfeld on a wide range of issues including international and regional security and China-US military ties. He will also meet with other members of the US administration. In addition the week-long visit will take him to US military bases and institutions.

Analysts say cooperative agreements in specific fields may result from the visit.

"Guo's visit will help promote China-US strategic trust on traditional security and expand cooperation on non-traditional security fields," said Yang Yi, director of the Institute for Strategic Studies at the National Defense University of China.

Among Guo's team are the Political Commissar of Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Nanjing Military Area Command Lei Mingqiu, Assistant to the PLA Chief of the General Staff Zhang Qinsheng, Deputy Commander of PLA Navy Zhao Xingfa, Deputy Commander of PLA Air Force Liu Chengjun and Chief of Staff of the PLA Second Artillery Force Yu Jixun.

Guo's visit is part of the growing high-level communications between Chinese and US armed forces in recent years.

Chinese Defense Minister Cao Gangchuan and PLA Chief of General Staff Liang Guanglie visited the US respectively in 2003 and 2004.

Last October, Rumsfeld paid his first official visit to China since taking office in 2001. During his stay in Beijing he visited the PLA Second Artillery Force which for the first time was opened to a foreign military leader.

William Fallon, commander of US forces in the Pacific, paid two visits to China in September 2005 and May 2006. Fallon also invited a Chinese delegation to observe a US military exercise in Guam in June which was the first invitation of its kind extended by the US.

An exchange mechanism for multi-level officers between the two armed forces is also in place. Military institutions in China and the US have regular exchange programs.

The defense departments of the two countries have restored a series of consultation mechanisms on maritime security, humanitarian disaster relief and military environmental protection.

Last month, a US delegation, headed by Assistant Defense Secretary Peter Rodman, came to Beijing for the eighth annual round of defense consultation.

"Both sides had a number of specific ideas of new areas of cooperation or new activities," Rodman said after the consultation.

Also last month the flagship of US Navy's Pacific fleet "Blue Ridge" paid its fourth visit to China's economic hub Shanghai highlighting warming exchanges between the two countries. 

However, officials with the Chinese Defense Ministry said there remained some "obstacles" preventing China-US military ties from being progressed such as the long-standing Taiwan issue and US strategic distrust of China.

The US congress passed bills limiting military exchanges with China as represented by the 2000 Fiscal Year Defense Authorization Act.

"From an overall point of view, positive factors in China-US military ties outweigh negative ones," said Qian, the official with the Chinese Defense Ministry.

As long as the two countries view the bilateral ties "from a strategic and long-term perspective", respect each other and properly address mutual concerns, the good momentum of the military ties would go on, Qian said.

Following his US tour Guo will pay an official visit to France as guest of French Defense Minister Michele Alliot-Marie.

(Xinhua News Agency July 17, 2006)