China's senior military official said Wednesday that Beijing will never seek to challenge the US' armed strength, but vowed that further arms sales to Taiwan would negatively impact Sino-US military ties.
In the first official visit to the US in seven years by a Chinese military official of his rank, Chen Bingde, chief of the General Staff of the People's Liberation Army (PLA), said that "China does not have the capability to challenge the US," according to AFP.
Addressing concerns in the US over China's military growth, Chen delivered a speech at the National Defense University on Wednesday, saying "although China's defense and military development have come a long way in recent years, a wide gap remains between us."
Both US Defense Secretary Robert Gates and China agreed that two sides needed to strengthen dialogue and cooperation, the Xinhua News Agency reported Thursday.
China was willing to embark on cooperation with the US in such areas as fighting sea pirates and disaster relief, Xinhua cited Chen as saying.
Peng Guangqian, a military strategist with the PLA Academy of Military Sciences, told the Global Times that US is pressuring China, since the latter's military development threatens the US' dominant position as the world's leading superpower.
However, according to Peng, China's military growth in recent years poses no threats to other countries.
Chen emphasized that the military relations between Beijing and Washington would suffer if the US sells weapons to Taiwan again in the future.
"As to how bad the impact would be, it would depend on the nature of the weapons sold to Taiwan," AFP quoted Chen as saying.
Military relations between China and the US have been reeling since Washington sold a $6.3 billion arms package to Taiwan last year.
Peng told the Global Times that the US arms sale had laid new obstacles for further exchanges between the two countries, and that the country did not have enough respect for China's national interests.