27 October 2009: CNN-The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer
WOLF BLITZER, HOST, "THE SITUATION ROOM": America's seat of military power will be hosting the second most powerful man leading another military power. The warm welcome comes despite some recent tensions between the United States and China.
Let's bring in our Elaine Quijano. She's over at the Pentagon working the story for us.
Elaine, what's going on?
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, this visit tomorrow by a high-level Chinese general comes as the U.S. and other countries have watched with some concern as China builds up its military capability.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
QUIJANO (voice-over): It's been a bumpy road for U.S.-China military relations after a series of confrontations earlier this year between U.S. and Chinese ships in the South China Sea. So the Pentagon and Defense Secretary Robert Gates are pulling out all the stops, welcoming Chinese's number two military officer, General Xu Caihou.
GEOFF MORRELL, PENTAGON SPOKESMAN: The more transparency there is, the more dialogue that goes on, the less chance there is for a misunderstanding between two very formidable powers on the world stage.
QUIJANO: The general's weeklong visit includes stops at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, Ft. Benning in Georgia, and U.S. Pacific Command in Honolulu.
Peter Brookes is a senior fellow at the Heritage Foundation.
PETER BROOKES, SR. FELLOW, HERITAGE FOUNDATION: The Pentagon, in hopes that this will allows the Chinese to feel that they can open doors as well to the American military so that there can be better communications, so there can some be confidence and security-building measures...
QUIJANO: Better communication especially about China's unprecedented military buildup.
DAVE FINKELSTEIN, DIRECTOR, CAN: You now have a China that has the capability, if not the intention, to employ military force in new ways that it hasn't been able to before.
QUIJANO: A buildup some call alarming.
BROOKES: We've seen significant changes in their capabilities over the last years, but we really don't know their intent. China is not threatened by any of its neighbors or the United States, so many people are concerned or trying to define exactly what the intent is of China's military buildup.
QUIJANO: Analysts say it's in the U.S.' own interest to keep the lines of communication open with China amid ongoing tensions over issues like Taiwan and the need for greater Chinese cooperation on Iran and North Korea.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
QUIJANO: Now the bottom line, Wolf, this visit is about showing China's military not only some openness, but, of course, also respect. Tomorrow there's going to be a full honors parade when the general arrives here at the Pentagon, and later on a dinner hosted by Defense Secretary Robert Gates -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Rolling out the red carpet indeed for China.
Thanks very much, Elaine.
You just heard about china's military buildup and capabilities, and when you compare defense budgets, here's something else. According to the International Institute for Strategic Studies, the U.S. budget for last year was $693 billion, the defense budget. China's a mere fraction of that, at about $61 billion.
Take a look at this. China has more active troops, almost 2.2 million, compared to almost 1.6 million active troops for the U.S.
