Posted on 01/13/2004 11:05:49 PM PST by Lake
US General Myers given red carpet welcome in Chinese capital
BEIJING, (AFP) - China's military rolled out the red carpet for visiting US chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Richard Myers, the highest level military officer to visit since ties became strained three years ago.
AFP Photo
Myers was given an honor guard welcome as he met his counterpart General Liang Guanglie, chief of general staff of the People's Liberation Army (PLA).
A 40-piece military band performed the two national athems in front of the Defense Ministry.
"General Myers, respected American guest, today I'm very pleased to have the opportunity to meet you," Liang said.
"First of all, on behalf of the general staff of the People's Liberation Army, and also in my own name, I'd like to extend a warm welcome."
Military ties plummeted when a US surveillance plane collided with a Chinese fighter in mid-air nearly three years ago in the South China Sea and no high-ranking US military official has been to China since.
The Chinese pilot was killed and the crippled EP-3 was forced to make an emergency landing at an airbase on China's Hainan island, where the plane's crew was held for 11 days.
The ice was broken during a visit to Washington last October by China's Defense Minister Cao Gangchuan during which he met Myers and US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.
During his visit, Myers is expected to cement routine military-to-military exchanges with China which were renewed with Cao's trip.
Besides Liang and Cao, Myers would also meet with Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing and could possibly pay a courtesy call on President Hu Jintao, Chinese press reports said.
Defense ministry officials said military-to-military relations would be the main topic of the visit, but they did not discount the possibilty of the North Korean nuclear crisis and the question of Taiwan also featuring.
A paper on China issued by the Pentagon (news - web sites) in August identified an "increasing willingness" by China to use force in reunifying Taiwan, while noting a buildup of missile forces against Taiwan and China's increasing military capability.
Meanwhile, China's active participation in the global war on terror and its efforts to broker six-nation talks on North Korea (news - web sites)'s nuclear ambitions have won praise from Washington.
"We believe that through this visit we can deepen understanding between the two militaries, expand bilateral consensus and develop bilateral friendship, while also promoting the healthy and stable development of Sino-US military relations," foreign ministry spokesman Kong Quan said Tuesday.
Makes one sick to see pictures like these. Thanks for posting pictures of these ChiCom psychopath murderers. The vile vermin that US military have to sometimnes put up with is sick.
Xin Nian Kuaile, Lake Tongzhi.
Much of it is cultural in terms of building 'guan-xi'.
The fact is they go out of their way to be good hosts. Sometimes I think they do so so they can get away with other stuff later on...
In short, many people go to China and get wined and dined, (or in some cases blazing drunk), and mistake that for the larger picture of good relations or smart business deals.
Many of these guys can eat dinner with you and smooze all day with a smile on their face, but really under it all, not like you or merely be after your wallet. They haven't forgotten their role (and goal), but they are hoping you forget yours.
For me, I think one no matter what they are doing in China have to be weary of being bought off via a cool dinner party. Don't lose your head in the party, keep an eye on the big picture, and you'll do ok.
One should always try to get beyong the 'face' things and to the core.
In real terms, guan-xi is established on more deep terms than dinner or a hot chick.
Chinese talk a lot about morals and moral law etc...
If one judges based on morality rather than who spends the most, it would be good.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.