U.S. does not see China as strategic adversary: Gates http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSN0726827820070307
Wed Mar 7, 2007
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on Wednesday he did not view China as a strategic adversary of the United States despite Beijing's growing military budget.
China said on Sunday it would boost defense spending by 17.8 percent this year, which follows a 14.7 percent increase in 2006 and is the biggest recorded rise in the past decade.
But Gates said the higher spending did not reveal much about China's intentions.
"It does say that China is building its capabilities," he told reporters at the Pentagon.
"I do not see China, at this point, as a strategic adversary of the United States," he said. "It's a partner in some respects, it's a competitor in other respects, and so we are simply watching to see what they're doing." Gates also said: "I think it's very important for us to engage the Chinese on all facets of our relationship as a way of building mutual confidence." The Pentagon chief echoed repeated U.S. calls for more transparency in China's military spending, saying he believed the declared total of 350.92 billion yuan or about $44.94 billion did not represent its entire defense budget.
But he seemed to strike a different tone from Vice President Dick Cheney, who said on a recent visit to Asia that the military buildup and an anti-satellite test were "not consistent with Beijing's stated goal of a 'peaceful rise.'"
China's officials often speak of a "peaceful rise" in hopes of dispelling fears about its surge in economic and military power.
© Reuters 2007. All rights reserved.