But Defense Secretary William Perry, on the second day of a four-day visit to China, warned government leaders that progress in Washington's new drive for better military cooperation with Beijing will depend heavily on improvement in China's human rights record.
Perry is the first U.S. defense chief to visit since the 1989 Beijing massacre of pro-democracy demonstrators by the Chinese army. A wide-range of military contacts between the two countries were frozen in the wake of those events.
In addition to its focus on human rights, the U.S. agenda includes pressing China to end nuclear weapons tests and halt the spread of its missile technology.
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