SEPT. 9, 2014
BEIJING — The United States should halt its “close-in” aerial and naval surveillance of China, a senior Chinese military officer told Susan E. Rice, President Obama’s national security adviser, on Tuesday.
Gen. Fan Changlong, vice chairman of the Central Military Commission, delivered the warning on the last day of Ms. Rice’s visit to China, her first since she took up her post 15 months ago. It comes at a time when Chinese-American relations are at their coolest in years.
General Fan told Ms. Rice that the United States should take the “correct” view of the development of the Chinese military, and “decrease and even end close-in ship and aircraft surveillance of China,” according to an account by Xinhua, the state-run news service. United States forces have watched China closely for decades.
The general’s remarks highlighted the wide gaps that have developed on a variety of issues between the countries since President Xi Jinping of China met with Mr. Obama in California in July 2013. Mr. Xi has steadily consolidated control at home since then, and China has vigorously pressed territorial claims in the South and East China Seas. It has enforced an antimonopoly law that some American corporations say favors Chinese champions, and taken other steps that have dismayed American businesses.
Ms. Rice stressed to her hosts the significance of her spending three days in Beijing when the United States faces pressing concerns elsewhere in the world. But her immediate task was fairly limited, to set the agenda for Mr. Obama’s planned visit to China in November. He will attend an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Beijing and then meet with Mr. Xi for a day.
Chinese officials appeared to have only modest expectations for Ms. Rice’s visit. “This cannot solve the problems,” said Shi Yinhong, professor of international relations at Renmin University. “Whether it’s matters of Japan, North Korea, Russia — there’s a long way to go.”
Wu Xinbo, the director of the Center for American Studies at Fudan University in Shanghai, said friction had built since Mr. Obama traveled in April to Japan, South Korea, Malaysia and the Philippines, four countries that worry about Chinese regional ambitions. “The relationship has gotten worse, Mr. Wu said. “There is a danger of it drifting further.”
In her public remarks in Beijing, Ms. Rice mentioned topics that offered some mutual interest but were removed from contentious issues like China’s territorial claims and Washington’s complaints about China’s role in cybertheft.
During a 45-minute meeting with Mr. Xi at the Great Hall of the People, Ms. Rice said the two countries could work together on climate change and counterterrorism.
She discussed with Chinese officials the possibility of China “making a contribution” in the fight against the militants of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. “The Chinese expressed interest in our proposal,” said a senior administration official who was traveling with Ms. Rice. “We are trying to build the international coalition that China should be part of. China’s answer was not ‘No.’ ”
