Pentagon: China's military strengthening
(Agencies)
Updated: 2005-07-20 08:48

Some members of the European Union, including France and Germany, have sought an end to the embargo imposed in 1989.

It "clearly points up the reason that the president and the United States government have been urging the EU to not lift the arms embargo on the People's Republic of China," Rumsfeld told reporters at the Pentagon.

At the White House, President Bush said at a joint news conference with Australian Prime Minister John Howard that the United States has a relationship with China that is "very important and very vibrant. It's a good relationship, but it's a complex relationship."

The House, while debating a State Department bill on Tuesday, accepted without dissent an amendment approving sanctions to deter foreign companies and nations, particularly in Europe, from selling arms to China.

The House defeated a similar bill last week, but changes were made to reassure American defense contractors that they would not be subject to penalties unless they knowingly transfer technologies that could potentially have military applications.

The new assessment of China's military said there are reasons to believe that China would not take military action against Taiwan.

"It does not yet possess the military capability to accomplish with confidence its political objectives on the island, particularly when confronted with outside intervention," it said. Chinese leaders also believe that attacking Taiwan would severely retard China's economic development and lead to instability on the mainland.

Rumsfeld said China is at a strategic crossroad.

"As I see it, China is on a path where they are determined to increase their economy, the opportunities for their people, and to enter the world community," Rumsfeld said, adding that the Chinese have been doing "a number of things to leave the world with the impression that they are a good place for investment."

China needs to be more open, politically as well as economically, Rumsfeld said, in order to be seen internationally as a more welcome partner.

"To the extent the political system does not (open up), it will inhibit the growth of their economy and ultimately the growth of their military capabilities," he said.