The recent talks between General Chen Bingde, the chief of the General Staff of the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA), and Admiral Mike Mullen, the chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, have hit the headlines. The PLA top military leaders one-week visit to the United States, the first of its kind in seven years, signals that Chinese-U.S. relations are back on track.
The fact that the PLA delegation included members of the General Staff responsible for operations, intelligence and foreign affairs, as well as senior generals from all branches of the Chinese military and key military districts, was itself testament to the visits importance.
In addition to the political agenda, the delegation also had the opportunity to visit several U.S. military installations, some of which were previously closed to foreign militaries. Earlier this year, the Presidents of China and the United States Hu Jintao and Barack Obama agreed on building a stable cooperative partnership between their two countries. Then, only recently, the third round of the Chinese-U.S. Strategic and Economic Dialogue resulted in the establishment of the Chinese-U.S. Strategic Security Dialogue, which will see regular meetings between both countries military and civil defense officials.
Indeed, the U.S. and Chinese militaries share certain security concerns. Besides common global threats, such as WMD proliferation, international terrorism, climate change, natural disasters, and sea-lane safety, they face a variety of regional security issues in the Asia Pacific region. First and foremost is the issue of mutual trust and confidence-building. In China, there is concern that Washington does not want to see Beijing become a major player on the global and regional arena, and is therefore trying to constrain its rise. In the United States, there are concerns about the lack of transparency over Chinas plans for military development, not to mention the countrys ultimate goals.
Full version of article was published on www.valdaiclub.com
The fact that the PLA delegation included members of the General Staff responsible for operations, intelligence and foreign affairs, as well as senior generals from all branches of the Chinese military and key military districts, was itself testament to the visits importance.
In addition to the political agenda, the delegation also had the opportunity to visit several U.S. military installations, some of which were previously closed to foreign militaries. Earlier this year, the Presidents of China and the United States Hu Jintao and Barack Obama agreed on building a stable cooperative partnership between their two countries. Then, only recently, the third round of the Chinese-U.S. Strategic and Economic Dialogue resulted in the establishment of the Chinese-U.S. Strategic Security Dialogue, which will see regular meetings between both countries military and civil defense officials.
Indeed, the U.S. and Chinese militaries share certain security concerns. Besides common global threats, such as WMD proliferation, international terrorism, climate change, natural disasters, and sea-lane safety, they face a variety of regional security issues in the Asia Pacific region. First and foremost is the issue of mutual trust and confidence-building. In China, there is concern that Washington does not want to see Beijing become a major player on the global and regional arena, and is therefore trying to constrain its rise. In the United States, there are concerns about the lack of transparency over Chinas plans for military development, not to mention the countrys ultimate goals.
Full version of article was published on www.valdaiclub.com