U.S. Secretary Of Defense Gates Trip To China Is Off To A Shaky Start

DEFENSE DISCUSSION - U.S. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and Chinese Defense Minister Liang Guanglie discuss defense issues at the Ministry of Defense in Beijing, Jan. 10, 2011. Gates met with Guanglie and his staff at the ministry and held a press conference there. DOD photo by U.S. Air Force by U.S. Master Sgt. Jerry Morrison

China Snubs U.S. Defense Pitch -- Wall Street Journal

Gates's Visit Is Off to Shaky Start; Gen. Liang Rules Out Ties as Long as Taiwan Arms Sales Continue.

BEIJING—China rebuffed a U.S. proposal for a clear timetable of strategic defense talks on the first day of a long-delayed visit to Beijing by Robert Gates, the U.S. defense secretary, and indicated that Taiwan remains the single biggest obstacle to improving the world's most important bilateral relationship.

While agreeing to narrower defense exchanges sometime in the first half of the year, Mr. Gates's Chinese counterpart, Gen. Liang Guanglie, also made clear that China would suspend military ties again if the U.S. continued to sell weapons to Taiwan, the island that Beijing regards as a rebel province.

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My Comment: This has been an education for Secretary of Defense Gates. He arrives with the best of intentions .... and the Chinese military leadership start the discussions with lectures and threats. U.S. intelligence failed in understanding how advanced China was in their stealth fighter program .... and they have failed in understanding what are China's military and strategic objectives. What is worse .... we are seeing this disconnect in real time, as well as a growing realization that (maybe) China does not give a hoot on what we think or want.