U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates left on a trip for Beijing. From AFP:
The US side is hoping the Chinese will agree to establish a telephone hot line linking the Pentagon and Chinese defense ministry as a mark of improving security ties, a senior defense official said.
But on his first trip to China as defense secretary, Gates also has basic questions for Chinese leaders about where they are taking the world’s most populous nation, as well as specific concerns such as the January 11 anti-satellite test, the official said. [Full text]