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China wants improved military ties with US
China greeted the inauguration of Barack Obama as US president with an appeal for better bilateral military relations, signalling Beijing's hopes of fully restoring military dialogue partly suspended last year over US arms sales to Taiwan.
The gesture accompanied the presentation of the biannual white paper on China's National Defense, whose release some analysts said had been timed for the inauguration.
“A few hours from now, Mr Obama will be inaugurated. In the new era, we hope that both sides can make joint efforts to create favourable conditions for the continued improvement and development of military relations,” said Hu Changming, spokesman of the ministry of national defence.
The softer tone contrasts with the uncompromising line Beijing has taken towards the outgoing Bush administration over military matters. For two months, the defence ministry has demanded that Washington reverse its October decision to sell $6.5bn in arms to Taiwan.
China's last three defence white papers had December release dates. “This one was delayed to wait for the Obama inauguration,” said Andrew Yang, secretary of the Chinese Council of Advanced Policy Studies in Taiwan. He added that recent improvements in cross-Strait relations and the military's need to reflect those in the document also contributed to the delay.
