Chapter 16 Chapter Two: Xiong Guangkai, the backbone of the pattern of "new military reform"

On December 9, 2002, Xiong Guangkai, deputy chief of the general staff of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, led a 7-member PLA senior delegation to the Pentagon of the US Department of Defense to hold the 5th China-US military defense consultation with senior US military officials.This unusual consultation has drawn close attention from countries around the world.The US media commented that this consultation not only marked the complete resumption of exchanges between the Chinese and US militaries that had been interrupted since the "South China Sea plane collision" incident, but also injected new content.

The defense consultation between the Chinese and American militaries was established in 1997. It was proposed by the then US Secretary of Defense Perry. Before Xiong Guangkai's visit to the United States, it was held four times in total. The last time was in November 2000. The talks were interrupted because of the plane collision incident in the South China Sea on April 1, 2001. Speaking of which, Xiong Guangkai has a very high reputation in the US military, not only because he is in charge of military research and foreign exchanges in the Chinese army, and his identity is sensitive, but also because there has been a rumor circulating in the United States: In 1995, Xiong Guangkai had a private conversation Tell an American officer, to the effect: We care more about Los Angeles than Taipei.Analysts believe that Xiong Guangkai's remarks imply that if the United States dares to send troops to intervene in the Taiwan Strait conflict and interfere in China's internal affairs, China may use long-range weapons against the cities on the West Coast of the United States.The officer immediately reported Xiong Guangkai's conversation and the analyst's inference to the U.S. government. The "New York Times", "Washington Post" and other American media took the opportunity to hype, fueling the "China Threat Theory" in the United States in the mid-1990s.

This is a completely groundless rumor fabricated by American journalists, and the US government later proved that "this was a mistake" and it was nonsense.In fact, some people say that this "mistake" was caused by Americans being too sensitive to Xiong Guangkai. Just after Xiong Guangkai went from the Pentagon to the White House to meet with National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice, the American "Washington Times" produced another sensational news headline: "Chinese General Told Threats to the United States Are Unacceptable."But when people read the full text carefully, they found that Rice did not say a single word about China's threat, which is obviously the effect of careful "production" by reporters.

The China-U.S. high-level meeting at the Pentagon lasted five hours from 9:00 am to 2:30 pm, during which the United States entertained Chinese guests from afar with a light salmon lunch.Douglas Firth, the undersecretary of defense policy of the US Department of Defense, said that this was a real "consultation" and the PLA delegation appeared very "professional". Firth is a heavyweight in the Pentagon.His position is one of the "four senior positions" in the Pentagon, responsible for all matters related to national security and defense policy, and overseeing the formulation and implementation of the policies and plans of the US Department of Defense.Specifically, his responsibilities are to: formulate policy on alliances and develop defense relations with foreign governments, military groups, and international organizations; formulate, coordinate, and oversee the implementation of international security strategies and policies related to foreign governments and military groups; oversee all Defense activities related to international technology transfer.

Those who are familiar with Firth, without exception, feel that he has an unusual relationship with the White House and the Pentagon: During the Reagan administration, he was the National Security Advisor of the White House and the Deputy Secretary of the Department of Defense in charge of negotiating policy; He has served as a special adviser to the Secretary of Defense, and his political views are hardliners; he also served as a lawyer at the "Ford and Zall Law Firm" in Washington, claiming to be proficient in "technology transfer, joint ventures and foreign investment in the defense and aerospace fields."It is said that this paranoid political figure is quite capable in his conduct, and has been appreciated and valued by successive US governments.

After Xiong Guangkai arrived at the Pentagon, Firth also meaningfully introduced Lawless, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Asia-Pacific Affairs of the US Department of Defense to the Chinese delegation.Xiong Guangkai and his party were not only directly welcomed into the Pentagon by the Americans, but also went to the White House to hold talks with US National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice. General Xiong Guangkai's tough stance against the United States has gradually softened in a relatively harmonious environment. Pentagon spokesman Major Davis made this evaluation in an interview with "21st Century Global Report": "Our talks this time are better than ever before." The second meeting of the maritime and air military security working group of the Maritime Military Security Consultative Mechanism was held in Qingdao, China from December 4th to 6th.During the meeting, the U.S. working group called on the Rear Admiral, Chief of Staff of the North Sea Fleet of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy, and visited the Navy's "Qingdao" guided missile destroyer.

Davis' overall judgment on Xiong Guangkai's visit to the United States is appropriate, but those who know the inside story also know that the US military actually has doubts about the Chinese military, including General Xiong Guangkai. During the working lunch on December 9, Xiong Guangkai proposed China's exchange plan to the US, but the US refused to respond on the grounds that it was "still studying".The reason is that the United States believes that China and the United States lack "reciprocity and transparency" in the military. The United States has always had such a "complaint" about China: Senior officials of the Chinese People's Liberation Army have visited our Pentagon many times and talked with key decision makers, but none of our US officials have ever had the opportunity to enter China's "Pentagon".Davis once said: "We take them to see our bases, see our front-line combat troops, let them meet with our military generals, decision makers and policy makers, but when our officials go to China, every time they go Taken to the same base, we don’t meet the real military generals and decision makers, we only meet foreign affairs officials and intelligence officials. When we go to China, we don’t meet our counterparts.”

Davis interpreted the U.S. response to "complaints" in this way: "Because we don't understand China's intentions, we have to prepare for the worst. If we prepare for the worst, it means that the actual The threat may be less than we think. So if China wants the US to think they are not a threat, it is better for us to understand their intentions. I think the same is true for the US, if China learns more about US intentions , will definitely learn what our threat is." From the perspective of the United States, whether a country poses a threat to it mainly depends on two factors: one is the country's military capabilities, and the other is the country's intentions.Davis said: "We believe that threat equals military capabilities plus intentions. It is easy to measure a country's military capabilities. For example, we can learn how many planes, how many warships, and how many missiles each other has, but intentions are difficult to measure because This involves the human element. Understanding intentions requires direct contact between the two sides. Everyone talks together to understand each other's thinking. To be honest, we know China's military power very well, but we don't know much about China's intentions. "

Probably because of this reason, taking advantage of Xiong Guangkai's visit to the Pentagon, the "Washington Times" turned up the rumor again and made a lot of hype.However, the Pentagon was not completely swayed by the media's remarks, and fully affirmed Xiong Guangkai's visit to the United States.U.S. Undersecretary of Defense Firth said to the outside world: "These military exchanges can give us a deeper understanding of China's thinking, policies and capabilities, which can at least allow us to formulate policies and their policies. more accurate information."