US general aims to boost China ties

[CHIMO]

Source: Source: Agencies

America’s most senior general has arrived in Beijing amid calls for closer ties with China’s fast-growing military.

The four-day visit by Marine General Peter Pace, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, follows recent US concerns over China's booming defence spending and the successful test of an anti-satellite weapon.

Arriving in Beijing on Thursday, Pace was welcomed by a full honour guard before beginning meetings with senior leaders of China's 2.3 million-strong armed forces.

Speaking before his arrival in Beijing, Pace said he hoped that the visit would rebuild ties damaged by a mid-air collision between a US spy plane and a Chinese jet fighter over the South China Sea in 2001.



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