US welcomes China military talks

The spy-plane crisis upset sceptical US officials

By Nick Childs BBC Pentagon correspondent

The Pentagon says the first formal high-level military talks with China since the Bush administration took office were useful and professional.

The number three at the Pentagon, Under-Secretary Doug Feith, said there had been real discussions, and each side felt it had come away with a better understanding of the other's perspective.

The two sides held over four hours of talks in Washington.

These were the first military talks at this level between the two sides since the crisis over the US surveillance plane in April last year.

Tentative progress

The Americans raised issues of continuing concern to Washington, such as:

• China's military modernisation plans

• Beijing's proliferation policy, which Mr Feith described as destabilising and a problem

• The missile build-up opposite Taiwan, which the US official called threatening.

China raised the issue of the US relationship with Taiwan.

But Mr Feith also said the United States, China and other countries had a common interest in stopping North Korea's nuclear programme.

The two sides also discussed Iraq, he said.

Mr Feith said the United States was not looking at a quick or major increase in military contacts between the two countries, but ones which serve a useful purpose.

The Americans would be studying some proposals from the Chinese in that regard, he said.

And this meeting, it seems, represented tentative progress by the two sides.