BriefingAsia-Pacific

Gates Trip to China Fails to Achieve Major Objectives

Gates Trip to China Fails to Achieve Major Objectives

U.S. officials established several key objectives for Defense Secretary Robert Gates' week-long visit to East Asia earlier this month. It now appears that, at least with respect to China, the trip failed to achieve its key goals.

During his Nov. 4-6 stay in Beijing, Gates held a 90-minute conference with Chinese Defense Minister Cao Gangchuan, a shorter meeting with Chinese President Hu Jintao, and additional sessions with other Chinese officials and journalists. Although Gates had visited China before, this was his first official trip since becoming Secretary of Defense last November.

One of Gates' major objectives was to induce the Chinese government to increase information-sharing regarding its defense plans and policies. The United States and other countries have repeatedly urged Beijing to make its military budget, planning, and other activities more transparent in order to minimize misunderstandings related to China's defense programs.

Keep reading for free!

Get instant access to the rest of this article by submitting your email address below. You'll also get access to three articles of your choice each month and our free newsletter:

Or, Subscribe now to get full access.

Already a subscriber? Log in here .

What you’ll get with an All-Access subscription to World Politics Review:

A WPR subscription is like no other resource — it’s like having a personal curator and expert analyst of global affairs news. Subscribe now, and you’ll get:

  • Immediate and instant access to WPR’s fully searchable library of 16,000+ articles
  • Daily articles with original analysis, written by leading topic experts, delivered to you every weekday
  • Weekly in-depth reports on important issues and countries
  • Daily links to must-read news and analysis from top sources around the globe, curated by our keen-eyed team of editors
  • The Weekly Wrap-Up email, with highlights of the week’s most important coverage, and what’s to come.
  • Completely ad-free reading.

And all of this is available to you when you subscribe today.

BEGIN YOUR WPR SUBSCRIPTION NOW

More World Politics Review