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老规矩,先贴出下面这篇文章:
3月16日
Condoleezza Rice has called for China to be more transparent about its military buildup
SYDNEY, Australia (CNN) -- U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has called for China to be more transparent about its military buildup, citing a 14 percent spending increase as a cause for concern.
Speaking at a joint media conference with Australian counterpart Alexander Downer in Sydney Thursday, Rice said China "should undertake to be transparent about what that means."
China's parliament last week approved a 14.7 percent increase in its annual military budget to $35 billion.
Rice is in Australia for trilateral talks between the United States, Australia and Japan, being held on Saturday, during which the issue of China's growing military, economic and political influence is expected to be discussed.
Rice also said the U.S. would continue to work closely with China on global issues, such as North Korea's nuclear program, but would not hesitate to raise issues of concern.
Rice said that along with transparency on China's military buildup, the U.S. believed China needed to pay attention to economic issues such as intellectual property rights, its currency regime, and government control of some business sectors.
Asked about the U.S.'s approach to Iran, Rice called the Middle Eastern state the "central banker of terrorism" and a "troublesome state."
She said the U.S. believed Iran was secretly developing a nuclear weapon and called on the nation to "heed the international community's call" to resume negotiations on its nuclear program.
Rice said she was "quite certain the (U.N.) Security Council will find an appropriate vehicle for expressing again ... the desire of the international community ... that Iran return to negotiations." (Full story)
Rice's comments came after a bilateral meeting with Foreign Minister Downer Thursday morning in Sydney.
Rice was to have lunch with American service personnel on board two U.S. Navy ships docked in Sydney Harbor and then give a speech to university students.
The secretary is also planning to take in some of the Commonwealth Games being held in the southern city of Melbourne.
She is scheduled to meet Australian Prime Minister John Howard on Friday before Saturday's inaugural ministerial meeting of the Trilateral Strategic Dialogue with Downer and Japan's Foreign Minister Taro Aso.
Before leaving the U.S., Rice said that the three countries must "make sure that we're looking at a Chinese military buildup that is not outsized for China's regional ambitions and interests," The Associated Press reported.
The U.S. in the past has accused China of understating its true military spend, with some analysts saying that China spends closer to $90 billion a year. However, even that figure is dwarfed by the U.S. military budget, which topped $400 billion for 2005.
China's National People's Congress, which met last week, was told the military budget increase was to "strengthen the army's capability to fight a defensive war and to respond to emergencies, and to raise soldiers' |
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