SONIA RUSELER, CNN ANCHOR: In Beijing Tuesday, the China-Taiwan dispute was taken up in talks between American and Chinese military leaders. CNN's Beijing bureau chief Rebecca MacKinnon has that part of the story.</s>REBECCA MACKINNON, CNN BEIJING BUREAU CHIEF (voice-over): Since arriving in Beijing on Sunday, the commander of the United States Pacific Forces, Dennis Blair, has spent his time in closed-door meetings, keeping his mouth closed, too, about what he and his Chinese counterparts have been saying to each other. Blair's visit comes just a week after Beijing issued a new policy paper on Taiwan, threatening to use military force against the island it considers a breakaway province, if it fails to resume reunification talks. Official sources say Blair expressed U.S. concern about these threats to his Chinese counterparts. Taiwan is gearing up for presidential elections in March. Four years ago, during Taiwan's last presidential campaign, China staged military exercises near Taiwan's coast. This time around, Beijing is only talking tough, but warns that any military escalation would be Washington's fault if it goes through with congressional proposals to sell new sophisticated weapons to Taiwan.</s>ZHU BANGZAO, FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESMAN (through translator): Taiwan is an inseparable part of China. The Taiwan issue is a wholly internal affair of China and no other country has any right to interfere with this issue. The United States has made some promises to China concerning this issue and should stick to its promises.</s>MACKINNON: Beijing severed military ties with Washington after U.S. warplanes bombed the Chinese embassy in Yugoslavia last May. Diplomats say Blair's visit is part of an effort to repair those ties and to prevent future misunderstandings from turning into conflict. Rebecca MacKinnon, CNN, Beijing.
American-Chinese Military Leaders Meet to Talk About China- Taiwan Dispute