China Takes Hard Line With U.S. on Taiwan

China rebuffed a U.S. proposal for a clear timetable of strategic defense talks on the first day of a long-delayed visit to Beijing by Robert Gates, the U.S. defense secretary, and indicated that Taiwan remains the single biggest obstacle to improving the world's most important bilateral relationship.

While agreeing to narrower defense exchanges some time in the first half of the year, Gates's Chinese counterpart, General Liang Guanglie, also made clear that China would suspend military ties again if the U.S. continues to sell weapons to Taiwan, the island that Beijing regards as a rebel province.

Gates arrived in Beijing Sunday on a three-day mission to deepen and stabilize military-to-military relations, which China has repeatedly suspended for political reasons over the last decade--most recently last January in response to U.S. arms sales to Taiwan.

(This story and related background material will be available on The Wall Street Journal website, WSJ.com.)

As his trip falls just ahead of a state visit by Chinese President Hu Jintao next week, which both sides hope will go well, Gates had hoped Chinese officials would agree to set dates for a series of high-level defense talks and a visit to Washington by Gen. Chen Bingde, chief of staff of the People's Liberation Army.

Although Pentagon officials had been hoping for a more enthusiastic response from Liang on Monday, the reaction was not unexpected.

Some U.S. officials and China analysts believe that China's civilian leadership is more keen on building the military-to-military relationship with Washington than the PLA. As a result, some expect Gates's meeting with President Hu on Tuesday to be visibly warmer than the news conference with Liang.

But Chinese experts on U.S.-China relations say Beijing is highly unlikely to show any flexibility on the issue of U.S. weapons sales to Taiwan--especially in the run-up to a Communist Party leadership change in 2012.

Gates asked the Chinese military to look at American arms sales to Taiwan as a political matter, and not let Beijing's objections to the transactions lead to a suspension of military ties.

'We are in strong agreement that in order to reduce the chances of miscommunication, misunderstanding, miscalculation it is important our military-to-military ties are solid, consistent and not subject to shifting political winds,' Gates said.

He also proposed establishing a broader strategic defense dialogue that would include in-depth discussions on Chinese and U.S. policies on nuclear weapons, missile defenses, cyberattacks and space.

Both countries have long tried to prevent friction between their armed forces from affecting their overall relationship, which has improved steadily over the last three decades despite U.S. legislation that obliges Washington to help Taiwan defend itself.

But tensions on the military front are having increasing impact on policy-making in Washington and Beijing as China's growing military power starts to challenge the supremacy that the U.S. has enjoyed in the Asia-Pacific region since the end of World War II.

Those tensions were evident in a series of public disputes last year over issues including China's more forceful territorial claims in the East and South China seas, Beijing's close links to North Korea, and U.S. joint military exercises near China's coast.

Chinese state media has been fiercely critical of U.S. defense policy in Asia, which it says is designed to contain a rising China, but has been relatively restrained in recent days in an apparent effort to ease the atmosphere ahead of Hu's visit to the U.S.

In recent months, U.S. officials have been offering their Chinese counterparts in-depth private briefings on U.S. nuclear policy and other military issues, in hopes of prompting Beijing to reciprocate.

But at a news conference Monday, Liang said only that China was 'studying' Gates's request for a deeper strategic dialogue, and declined to agree on specific dates for future defense talks, announcing only that they would occur in the first half of 2011.

China agreed instead to set up a working group to discuss the military relationship, as well as to renew a deal, originally struck in October 2009, to expand high-level military education exchanges and expand cooperation on counterpiracy exercises and disaster-relief preparation.

Liang said he recognized the U.S. desire for military-to-military ties that are uninterrupted by political disagreements. But his emphatic denunciation of U.S. arms sales to Taiwan made plain that future weapons transfers likely would again threaten military relations.

'China's position has been clear and consistent: We are against it,' Liang said. 'U.S. arms sales to Taiwan seriously damage China's core interests. And we do not want to see that happen again.'

He added: 'We hope the United States will pay sufficient attention to the concerns to the Chinese side and take measures to gradually remove or reduce the obstacles that stand in the way of our military-to-military relations.'

Gates also met Xi Jinping, China's vice president, who was effectively anointed as the country's next president and Communist Party chief in October when he was appointed a vice chairman of the party's Central Military Commission, which controls the PLA.

Some experts suggested that China was responding to U.S. demands for greater military transparency by allowing Gates to visit the headquarters of China's Second Artillery Corps, which controls its nuclear and conventional missiles, on Wednesday.

However, others pointed out that Donald Rumsfeld was also allowed to visit the same headquarters when he visited as defense secretary back in 2005.

Pentagon officials argue that they are trying to use incremental steps, such as the working-group meetings the Chinese officials agreed to Monday, to build trust and move to the kind of broader dialogue that Gates has been pushing for.

Some officials hope that if they can demonstrate openness with the Chinese, and successfully complete a series of dialogues on basic defense issues, over time Chinese leaders will grow more comfortable with a discussion that goes beyond talking points and tackles the deeper strategic issues Gates believes are critical to discuss.

Before the trip, officials rebuffed suggestions the visit was just for show ahead of Hu's visit, and they also pushed back against suggestions that Gates needed to visit any new facilities, previously off limits to American leaders.

Fuchsia Dunlop's Favorite Restaurants in China

Fuchsia Dunlop went to Sichuan Province in southwest China in 1994 to study China's policy on ethnic minorities for the British Council, the British Government the body of international cultural relations.

Fortunately for lovers of Chinese food, Ms. Dunlop neglected his studies in favor of taking to the streets on a bicycle, filling journals with notes and drawings discovered and grilling food hawkers and shop owners noodle food from your city.

She recounted her Chinese culinary journey in China 'Sichuan cuisine "(2001) and" revolutionary China cookbook: Recipes from Hunan Province (2006). Its 2. 008 memories, 'shark's fin and Sichuan pepper, "won the 2009 Jane Grigson Award of the International Association of Culinary Professionals last year and was shortlisted for a prestigious James Beard Foundation, established in honor of the chef famous American cookbook author.

Today, Ms. Dunlop is widely recognized as the preeminent Western expert on Chinese food, and a clever lyrical interpreter of the mysteries of the regional cuisine for lovers of Western food and Chinese diaspora alike. Along the way, she has become accustomed to having both Western and Chinese people are asking her obsession.

"In the early days I think they were touched that this stranger was so mad passion for Chinese food, but because I can talk a lot about the professional kitchen and I can speak with some precision on cooking methods and ingredients, which are really surprised," said Ms. Dunlop, who also read and write in Chinese.

At home in London, she takes a dim-sum settlement in the Royal China restaurant in Canary Wharf ─ one of the six best Chinese restaurants in the world, according to his calculations. "Sitting on the terrace here on a hot summer day, eating donuts and overlooking the Thames, is one of my favorite things. His other five teams are in China:

1. Beijing Da Dong Roast Duck Restaurant
For Peking duck, obviously.
22 Dongsishitiao, Dongcheng District. Tel 86-10-5169-0328

2. Yu's Family Kitchen in Chengdu, Sichuan Province
This restaurant, run by chef and his wife Yu Bo Dai Shuang, is probably the most exciting thing I've found in over 15 years of eating around China. Is a small place with only six private dining rooms, and the food is exquisite.
43 Xiangzi Zhai. Tel 86-28-8669-1975

3. Dragon Well Manor in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province
The food here is organic, coming directly from artisan producers and farmers, cooked by chefs without MSG and served in private rooms scattered around a beautiful garden in the hills of Longjing tea. It's like visiting the Prospect Garden in the classic Chinese novel "Dream of Red Mansions (Hong Lou Meng"). One of my favorite places in China.
Longjing Lu 399. Tel 86-571-8788-8777

4. Fat Cheung, Hong Kong
A rather scruffy coffee area in Kowloon City, which serves wonderful food Chaozhou.
60 Nam Shing Rd. Tel 852-2383-3114

5. The Lu family residence, Yangzhou, Jiangsu Province
His is possibly my favorite breakfast in China: Yangzhou baozi delicious dumplings and served in the restored mansion of a salt merchant.
22 Kangshan San Tel 86-514-8790-7197

Rice Criticizes Settlement Expansion on Arrival in Israel

The United States' top diplomat has arrived in the Middle East to try to give a boost to the peace process. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is pushing for a peace agreement before President Bush leaves office in January.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice began her peace mission with harsh criticism of Israel's announcement that it plans to build 1,300 new homes in disputed East Jerusalem. Rice told reporters on her plane that settlement expansion does not build confidence and is an obstacle to peace.

The Palestinians claim East Jerusalem as the capital of their future state. But Israel says it can build anywhere in Jerusalem because it will be the capital of the Jewish state in any final peace agreement. "Jewish neighborhoods in Jerusalem will remain part of Jerusalem in final status talks, and the truth is everyone understands that," said Israeli spokesman Mark Regev.

Israel has announced plans to build some 3,000 new homes in East Jerusalem and the West Bank since peace talks resumed six months ago. Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat says enough is enough. "This cannot stand," said Erekat. "The government of Israel has a choice, either to continue the settlement activity or to continue the peace process. It cannot have both."

　
The settlement issue will be high on the agenda when Rice meets separately with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Sunday.

French Ship Foils Pirate Attack

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Record high prices of gold have failed to dent its consumption in India – the world's largest market for the precious metal

R.K. Garg, 50, and his wife are shopping for gold earrings at the Gold Souk Mall in Gurgaon, close to New Delhi. Prices are up by 25 percent since he bought gold jewelry for his daughter's wedding last year, but he says he has no choice except to buy another piece.
"For the first anniversary we have to give some gift to her," Garg said.
A centuries-old tradition of gifting gold at marriages and other occasions and buying it during festivals is keeping the gold market buoyant in India, although prices are hovering around $1340 an ounce – an all-time high.
The economic recession and a drought had led to a sharp fall in demand, last year. But those memories have faded as the Indian economy grows briskly once again and good rains this monsoon season boost farm incomes.
Wedding season, new designs
As the main festival and wedding season gets underway, jewelers are getting ready with new designs and attractive offers to lure customers.
Rajinder Bhola's jewelry shop at the Gold Souk is buzzing with customers. He says he sees fewer casual customers walk in to buy pieces of jewelry, probably due to the high prices.
But Bhola says demand for jewelry to be presented at weddings remains consistent. And, in a country where two-thirds of the billion-plus population is under 30, the number of marriages is on the rise.
"The growing population, and then the weddings, and then very basic needs like all women in India wear a chain, and ring and bangles, these are the primary things which people have to buy," said Bhola.
Good investment
It is not just the cultural affinity with gold that continues to fuel demand.
In Mumbai, Associate Director at the World Gold Council in Mumbai, Keyur Shah, says the massive jump in prices in recent years has only reinforced the centuries-old belief that gold is a time-tested asset.
"Indian consumers are not afraid of the price level," Shah said. "In fact it reiterates their confidence if prices consistently go up in gold. They always feel they made a wise decision to buy gold say two years back and wish they had bought more."
Belief that gold is a good investment is also spurring the sales of gold coins and gold bars. And, it is not just prosperous, urban centers where gold is selling. Demand is also high in rural areas where other investment options such as banks and stocks are limited. Rural areas account for nearly two-thirds of gold purchases in the country.
A report by the World Gold Council says India and China are set to be the driving force behind gold demand.
The World Gold Council's Shah says prosperity is driving demand in these countries.
"If you look at the retail demand globally, consumption in India and China is on the rise and it is mainly due to rising incomes of the middle class," he added.
That includes people like Somya Misra, who will be getting married in January. She is going around jewelry shops to decide what she would like to pick up. The bride-to-be is not worrying about prices, but what pieces she wants.
"If marriages are happening, people are buying gold, irrespective of price, so I think till the time marriages continue in the same spirit in India, the purchase of gold is going to be high," Misra said.
That is what jewelers across the country are hoping will happen, helping them pull in good profits.

UN: Iran Will Allow Access to Suspected Nuclear Military Site

The head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency says the Iranian government has agreed to give his inspectors access to what had been an off limits military site where the United States believes the country may be developing a nuclear weapon.

For months, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has been denied access by Iran to the Parchin military complex, a site that the United States suspects Tehran may be using to develop nuclear weapons.

Now, IAEA Director-General Mohamed ElBaradei says Tehran may have changed its mind.

"We will probably expect to do certain activities in the next few weeks, including hopefully a visit to this Parchin site," he said.

Interest in the site is driven in part by satellite images that suggest the testing of high explosives at the facility. But without actually gaining access first hand, experts say such components could just as easily have non-nuclear applications.

So far, Iran has allowed UN nuclear inspectors access only to non-military zones and the IAEA chief did not say what might have led the country to this apparent reversal of course.

"I expect that we will be visiting there in the next few days or weeks," he added.

There has been no comment from Iran. But such a visit would mark the latest twist in the IAEA's long dealings with Iran over its suspected nuclear weapons program. The U.N. agency has not found hard evidence proving the country is working to produce nuclear weapons. But Tehran has acknowledged that it hid critical aspects of its civilian nuclear program for nearly two decades even though it insists all such programs are intended to produce electricity.

The Bush administration believes Iran is working to develop nuclear weapons and pushed for an IAEA decision to refer the matter to the U.N. Security Council. The European Union, meanwhile, puts forward a package of economic incentives in exchange for an Iranian promise to freeze uranium enrichment.

Japan's hopes of acquiring the jet touted as the world's most advanced fighter are being dashed. The commander of U.S. Forces Japan

The top American military commander in Japan rebuffed Tokyo's hopes of acquiring a new state-of-the-art fighter, just days after the U.S. Senate cut future funding for production of the combat jet.

Lieutenant General Edward Rice on Thursday said the F-22 Raptor was never intended to be sold to other countries, despite interest expressed by such allies as Japan, Australia and Israel.

　

"Given that the F-22 is not available to anybody in the world as an export aircraft, what is the best aircraft for Japan to purchase to secure their defensive needs of the available aircraft? I certainly am not in a position or would not take a position to try to suggest to the Japanese what aircraft they should buy," Rice said.

The Japanese and other allies may have to look at the smaller, slower and cheaper F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, which has some of the advanced technology developed for the Raptor.

　
President Obama has said it would be a waste of money to build more F-22's, a stance many U.S. lawmakers supported. His administration wants to shift more of the defense budget away from conventional warfare projects that have huge costs.

But influential proponents of the F-22 in the U.S. Congress say that even if the Air Force does not want more of the twin-engine jets, they should be built for sale to allies. Supporters say the high-altitude supersonic fighter is ideal to counter any future threat from China's combat jets.

　

Japan's Air Self Defense Force primarily relies on F-4 and F-15 fighter jets. Defense officials here say their top preference to replace the aging F-4's remains the Raptor despite the funding cut by U.S. senators.