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U.S. upbeat after China military talks
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The U.S. has described as useful the first senior level policy discussions with Chinese military officials since a spy plane incident in April last year. A key focus of the discussions, Pentagon officials said, was U.S. concerns about North Korea's nuclear weapons program. The talks were the fifth in an ongoing series of joint military talks in Washington -- and the first such meetings of the current Bush administration. Douglas Feith, the undersecretary of defense for policy, called the talks "useful," and said the discussions focused on a range of issues concerning areas of common interest and strategic cooperation. The Chinese delegation was led by Deputy Chief of the General Staff, Gen. Xiong Guangkai. The discussions took place in an atmosphere of increased tension between the United States and North Korea. In October, North Korea acknowledged it was developing nuclear weapons despite its 1994 agreement to freeze its nuclear weapons development program. In response, the United States, South Korea, Japan and the European Union -- members of the international consortium charged with implementing the 1994 agreement -- suspended shipments of fuel oil to North Korea. When asked about news reports that North Korea is trying to buy chemicals from China that could be used for nuclear-weapons fuel, Feith told reporters the United States urged Chinese officials to strongly discourage the North Koreans from pursuing its nuclear weapons program. Feith was unclear about just how much influence the Chinese could wield with the North Koreans on this matter, but he did say, "China has more contacts in North Korea than the U.S. does." He said policy discussions surrounding North Korea and non-proliferation will seek to enlist the support of other countries in the region such as Japan, Russia and South Korea. "We are working with these countries in the region to bring to bear whatever influence they have in persuading the North Koreans that their course of action is not a good one," Feith said. The talks also focused upon finding opportunities for military-to-military exchanges with the Chinese. Feith emphasized that these exchanges should be more than mere "showcase" maneuvers but rather relationships that succeed in deepening a mutual understanding. Mild tensionPentagon officials told CNN that cooperation with the Chinese, although incremental, has steadily improved since the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States. However, there was some mild tension at the talks surrounding China's decision to deploy missiles within striking range of Taiwan. "China did not remove the possible use of force to resolve the conflict," Feith said. Pentagon officials said, when the Chinese delegation was confronted with their missile build-up across from Taiwan, they pointed to the U.S. military's sale of arms to Taiwan. Monday's talks were the highest level policy talks between the countries since a U.S. EP-3E surveillance plane collided with a Chinese fighter in April 2001. The Navy plane made an emergency landing on the Chinese island of Hainan, and the 24-member crew was held on that island for 11 days before Beijing released them.
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