Tung Chee-hwa recently warned the most powerful US military official in the region against future missions by US aircraft carriers in the Yellow Sea.
His words, at a dinner in Hong Kong, are further proof of the behind-the-scenes influence the city's former chief executive has on Sino-US relations.
In a rare example of secret military diplomacy being conducted in Hong Kong, Tung (pictured) urged Admiral Robert Willard, head of the US Pacific Command, not to attempt to contain China.
They spoke during an informal dinner last month at the residence of US Consul-General Stephen Young. It was the highest-level discussion between a US military officer and a state leader since Beijing froze military and strategic exchanges after US President Barack Obama approved arms sales to Taiwan in February.
Their talks highlighted the mounting tensions over the Yellow Sea, and illuminated Tung's unique role as a trusted emissary for Beijing who is able to exploit impeccable personal and family connections to the US.
Tung, who is a vice-chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, China's top political advisory body, attended the dinner as head of his Chinese-US Exchange Foundation - an increasingly active Hong Kong-based body he uses to foster ties between China and his former home, the United States.
The conversation, described by Hong Kong people familiar with the dinner as a 'casual exchange of views', came just ahead of a visit to Beijing by deputy US National Security Adviser Thomas Donlion and White House economic adviser Larry Summers. That visit appeared to soothe troubled ties; there were reports soon afterwards that military exchanges could soon resume ahead of President Hu Jintao's visit to Washington early next year.
