Chinese Defense Minister Visits Pentagon

White House - AP Cabinet & State ^ | October 30, 2003 | PAULINE JELINEK, AP

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The Pentagon visit by Gen. Cao Gangchuan was the first by a Chinese defense minister during the Bush administration, though Rumsfeld last year met with Chinese president Hu Jintao while Hu was vice president.

The military leaders talked about the threat from North Korea's nuclear program, the global war on terrorism and prospects for future U.S.-Chinese military relations, defense officials said.

The state of military-to-military ties between the two countries has been up and down for decades. Ties were severed after China's army-led crackdown in 1989 on student protests at Tiananmen Square. A 1994 visit to Beijing by then-Defense Secretary William Perry was meant to put relations back on track, but strains remained because of tensions over Taiwan, an island nation that China views as a renegade province.

The Bush administration got off to a bad start with China after a Chinese fighter jet and a U.S. spy plane collided in April 2001 - resulting in the death of the Chinese pilot and an emergency landing by the damaged American plane. The administration was particularly angered because China imprisoned American crew members, prompting a tense diplomatic standoff for 11 days before they were released.

Some critics had already complained that the United States was giving more than it was getting in military relations with China. But after the plane collision, Rumsfeld sharply reduced military ties for more than a year before efforts began to rebuild them.

The United States is working to ensure closer relations now mainly because it needs China to help it, South Korea and Japan persuade North Korea to abandon its nuclear program, officials said Tuesday. The last time a Chinese defense minister visited Washington was in December 1996. During that visit, Gen. Chi Haotian went not only to the Pentagon but also to the White House for a meeting with President Clinton.

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This NASA artist's concept shows the Galileo spacecraft flying by Jupiter's volcanic moon Io (L) and the gigantic planet (R). China will contribute 200m euros to the Galileo project.(AFP-NASA)

China to contribute 200 million euros to EU's Galileo project [Full Text] BEIJING (AFP) - China is expected to sign an agreement with the European Union that will commit the communist giant to a 200 million euro (169 million dollars) stake in the Galileo satellite navigation system, a rival to the United States' Global Positioning System.

The agreement is expected to be signed on Thursday during the EU-China summit to be held in Beijing, said Klaus Ebermann, head of the European Commission delegation in China.

"Now it has been decided, China will be making a significant financial contribution and we have good reason to believe it will be good cooperation with the focus mainly on applications," he said.

"I was told it was 200 (million euros), my guess is it is 200 million."

The Galileo Joint Undertaking is a venture between the EU and the European Space Agency.

China, which launched its first-ever manned space flight earlier this month, is also expected to cooperate with the EU on satellite navigation through joint work on research and development, manufacturing and technical aspects of the Galileo project such as radio frequencies.

Attending the upcoming summit will be Italian Prime Minister and current EU President Silvio Berlusconi, European Commission President Romano Prodi and EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana.

The Chinese side will be led by Prime Minister Wen Jiabao. The European leaders will also meet Chinese President Hu Jintao.

The two sides will also sign an "authorised destination status" agreement which will simplify visa procedures for Chinese tour groups to Europe, while setting up a mechanism for repatriating illegal immigrants, Ebermann said.

Galileo, scheduled to be operational by 2008, is designed to encircle the globe with 30 satellites in medium Earth orbit, comprising 27 operational satellites and three reserves, plus two control centres on the ground.

It should provide users, ranging from aircraft and shipping to cars and trekkers, with a navigational fix accurate to within just one metre (3.25 feet), more accurate than the US GPS system. [End]