Vice-President Hu Jintao won agreement yesterday from US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to begin talks on a possible resumption of formal military contacts during a historic visit to the Pentagon.
While military officials tried to play down the significance of the agreement, diplomatic analysts suggested it represented a coup for Mr Hu - who until a week ago was never expected to visit the Pentagon, much less snare any sort of agreement.
'We had a great meeting,' a smiling Mr Hu said as he emerged from the building. 'We reached a consensus to restore and strengthen military-to-military exchanges.'
Mr Hu became the most senior Chinese official to visit the Pentagon.
Pentagon officials were quick to put Mr Hu's comments in their own perspective, saying it was not an agreement to resume contacts but 'an agreement to talk about it'. 'That is a very important point,' one Pentagon official said.
Sources on both sides described the 45-minute session as wide-ranging and frank, covering issues including China's missile exports, America's shifting nuclear weapons policies and weapons of mass destruction.
Both sides restated firm rival positions on Taiwan and discussed future co-operation on the US-led war on terrorism. Mr Rumsfeld, like President George W. Bush and other senior officials, had been keen to 'take the measure' of Mr Hu ahead of his anticipated rise to the top of the Chinese leadership later this year.
