Strengthening Understanding and Engagement with China's Air Force
Abstract
Since the historic coming together of China and the United States in 1972, this strategic relationship has benefited both our nations and fostered an unprecedented period of peace and prosperity in the Asia Pacific region. Our relationship with China, however, has had its ups and downs over the past four decades. In recent years, growing distrust and increasing misperception have made the need to improve lines of communication between our two government ts and militaries all the more urgent Recently , we traveled to China at the invitation of the Chinese government. This was the first visit for a U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff in 15 years. The visit was constructive and substantive in its outcomes, and our hope is that it will lead to future exchanges that foster greater understanding and transparency between our two air forces.1 The visit came in the wake of several milestones achieved between our two countries this year, the most important being the June 2013 summit meeting between Presidents Obama and Xi in California, where both leaders affirmed the need for greater understanding between our two nations and our two militaries. Together with other important recent military exchanges such as Chairman Dempsey's visit to China and People's Republic of China (PRC) Defense Minister Chang's visit to the United States, our visit was part of a larger effort to improve understanding between our two armed forces as well as reduce military-to-military friction. We look forward to continuing these efforts well into the future.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Feb 01, 2014
- Accession Number
- ADA621989
Entities
People
- Hawk Carlisle
- Mark A. Welsh Iii
Organizations
- Air and Space Power Journal