The United States defence secretary, William Cohen, has become the first American to visit the air defence headquarters in Beijing, whose very existence the Chinese had denied until this month.

He said his reception in the Chinese capital was a positive prelude to a planned visit by President Clinton later this year.

Mr Cohen, who is coming to the end of a three-day visit, was earlier given a renewed assurance by his Chinese counterpart Chi Haotian that China would not export anti-ship Cruise missiles and nuclear technology to Iran.

Mr Cohen warned that providing weapons technology to Iran could damage relations between America and China. The United States fears that Iran is developing a nuclear weapons capability.

Mr Cohen's three day visit also resulted in a Maritime Co-operation Agreement to increase naval contacts and avoid accidental clashes at sea.

The first of its kind between the two military powers, the agreement aims to avoid naval incidents in the Pacific -- like the naval standoff two years ago off the coast of Taiwan.

China and the US will hold regular meetings to discuss sea and air force deployments.

The American defence secretary said today's agreement was a symbol of the 'maturing relationship' between the two militaries. The BBC Beijing correspondent says both sides were keen to dwell on the image of togetherness, with Mr Cohen and General Chi stressing that the Presidents had created the momentum which allowed good military relations to prosper.

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