The United States is spending too much on its military in light of its recent economic troubles, China's top general said Monday while playing down his country's own military capabilities. The chief of the General Staff of the People's Liberation Army, Chen Bingde, told reporters he thought the US should cut back on defence spending for the sake of its taxpayers.
He was speaking during a joint news conference in which he traded barbs with visiting US counterpart Adm. Mike Mullen. "I know the US is still recovering from the financial crisis," Chen said. "Under such circumstances, it is still spending a lot of money on its military and isn't that placing too much pressure on the taxpayers? "If the US could reduce its military spending a bit and spend more on improving the livelihood of the American people wouldn't that be a better scenario?" he said.
The visit by Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is the first of its kind in four years. Mullen and Chen are trying to upgrade military-to-military ties after setbacks over US arms sales to Taiwan, cyberattacks traced to China and concern about Beijing's military plans.
Chen made a similar trip to the US in May as part of efforts to improve often frosty relations between the militaries, especially as the economies of the countries become more co-dependent. The two sides announced future exchanges, according to a statement released through the official Xinhua News Agency, with the commander of one of China's seven military regions visiting the headquarters of the US Pacific Command in Hawaii later this year, followed by a return visit by the head of the Pacific Command.
It said the two sides agreed to hold more meetings in the first half of next year. The world's two biggest economies frequently clash over financial issues, such as Beijing's resistance to exchange rate reforms and the ballooning US trade deficit with China. Such issues are not usually at the forefront of military talks, though both sides chide each other for their defence spending.
China's military budget of $95 billion this year is the world's second-highest after Washington's planned $650 billion in defence spending. Mullen acknowledged tough challenges to improving their military ties and called for more communication as well as "clearer and more pragmatic expectations."