The Chinese military have finally decided to build an exclusive telephone hotline with its American counterparts, confirmed US Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Chinese Defense Minister Cao Gangchuan, decades after the Cold War and the invent of the Internet.
Both sides have reached an agreement, but "technical consultations and preparations" have yet to be finalized. This news is undoubtedly comes as a surprise and significantly eases the tension in Sino-US relations. Recall that ex-US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld never failed to be skeptical and disapproving of China's defense spending over the years.
Also, at the press conference, Gates mentioned two other subjects: US President Bush to attend the Beijing Olympics next summer, and the successful launch of China's new lunar orbiter.
Although Gates hailed the talks, the new hotline, and everything with China as "candid, constructive and cooperative", when he was questioned about China’s ground-based missile attack on a satellite last January, Gates said only, “I raised our concerns about it, and there was no further discussion.”
Is there greater trust between the two sides? What do you think?
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