Rumsfeld cited the U.S. Constitution's phrase, ``We the People,'' and said it expresses the basic idea that ``it is the people who tell our government what it can do.''

Rumsfeld: China Understating Military

Wednesday October 19, 2005 3:01 AM

AP Photo TOK210

By ROBERT BURNS

AP Military Writer

BEIJING (AP) - China is raising global suspicion about its military intentions by failing to acknowledge the true size of recent increases in its defense spending, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said.

On his first trip to China as President Bush's Pentagon chief, Rumsfeld is meeting with government officials and senior military leaders in advance of Bush's planned visit next month. A Chinese spokesman said he hoped Rumsfeld's visit ``would increase his understanding'' of China's policy.

In his first scheduled event of the three-day trip - a speech at a top Communist Party top training center - Rumsfeld lectured China on the lessons of democracy. He urged more political openness and cautioned against the fast pace and secretive nature of China's military expansion.

``While there is no one model that is perfect for every nation at every time in its development, a look across the globe suggests that societies that tend to encourage more open markets and freer systems are societies where the people are enjoying the greatest opportunities,'' Rumsfeld said in a speech Wednesday at the Central Party School, the party's top training center for mid-career members and its main ideological think tank.

``Most of the nations in Asia understand that,'' he added, implying that China does not.

Later, Rumsfeld was meeting with President Hu Jintao and his defense minister, Gen. Cao Gangchuan.

In his remarks at the Central Party School, Rumsfeld advised vigilance against ``another Great Wall'' - a barrier limiting speech, information and choices. People cannot be isolated for long, he said.

The speech applauded China's recent dramatic economic growth and said the United States would welcome a peaceful and prosperous China.

``We also approach our relationship realistically,'' Rumsfeld added.

``Many countries, for example, have questions about the pace and scope of China's military expansion,'' he said. ``A growth in China's power projection understandably leads other nations to question intentions and to adjust their behavior in some fashion.''

Rumsfeld cited the U.S. Constitution's phrase, ``We the People,'' and said it expresses the basic idea that ``it is the people who tell our government what it can do.''

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U.S., China Spar on Defense

During Rumsfeld's visit, a top Beijing official says the published figure for military spending is the 'true budget,' contrary to Pentagon assertions.

By Mark Mazzetti

Times Staff Writer

October 20, 2005

BEIJING -- High-level talks this week may have begun to thaw U.S.-Chinese military relations, but the two sides still strongly disagree over how much Beijing spends annually on its armed forces.

After meeting with Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld on Wednesday, Chinese Defense Minister Cao Gangchuan rejected a Pentagon claim that China vastly underreports its military expenditures, saying the publicly released figure of about $30 billion is the "true budget" for his nation's defense spending.

The government's domestic priorities and the need to address poverty prevent Beijing from spending more on defense, Cao said. "It is simply impossible for us to massively increase the investment into defense capabilities," he told reporters.

In remarks to Beijing's Academy of Military Sciences this morning, Rumsfeld reiterated the U.S. stance that China spends billions more than it admits to, and he said there were growing fears throughout Asia about the nation's military intentions.

"To the extent that defense expenditures are judged to be considerably higher than what is published, neighbors understandably wonder what the reason might be for the disparity between what they believe to be reality and public statements," he said.

A Pentagon report released in July estimated that China was spending up to $90 billion annually on its military. In a May study, the Rand Corp., a Santa Monica think tank, put the figure at between $69 billion and $78 billion. The U.S. defense budget is more than $400 billion.

One reason for the discrepancy in the Chinese budget figures, the Pentagon report noted, is that Beijing does not include in its official budget foreign arms purchases (including up to $3 billion worth annually from Russia), expenditures on nuclear weapons, and some research and development spending.

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Wolfowitz urges China to give citizens more say

By Alan Wheatley, China Economics Editor

Reuters

Tuesday, October 18, 2005; 9:54 AM

BEIJING (Reuters) - World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz prodded China on Tuesday to give more power to the people for the sake of sustaining strong economic growth.

Wolfowitz, a staunch conservative who served as deputy U.S. secretary of defense before joining the bank, said China had made progress in giving a voice to ordinary citizens but needed to do much more.

"Such issues as the rule of law and the role of civil society are important non-economic factors in development -- as important or perhaps more important than the traditional inputs of labor and capital," Wolfowitz said.

"China is at a point now where these issues loom large on the agenda," he told a news conference after nearly a week in China.

Striking a similar theme, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Christopher Cox said separately that the development of healthy capital markets would contribute directly to the advance of freedom in China.

As such, American engagement in China was a force for good, said Cox, author of a 1999 congressional report that accused China of stealing design information on U.S. nuclear warheads.

"It's difficult to separate broad human rights such as the ability to speak and read and to enjoy the freedom of information from what is necessary for the proper functioning of a capital market," Cox told reporters on the sidelines of a conference in Beijing.

Wolfowitz chose his words carefully, saying that he did not want to spoil the impressive candor of the World Bank's private dialogue with Chinese officials.

But he held up as a model a village he had visited in Gansu, a poor western province, where peasants voted not only on the village leadership but also on which development projects to pursue.

China should push as hard as possible in this direction, Wolfowitz said. "That kind of participation in decision-making at the local level greatly helps the development process."

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