BEIJING: "The United States is spending too much on its military in light of its recent economic troubles," said China's top general said on Monday, while playing down his country's own military capabilities.
The chief of the General Staff of the People's Liberation Army, Chen Bingde, said that he thought the US should cut back on defence spending for the sake of its taxpayers. He was speaking during a joint news conference in which he traded barbs with visiting US counterpart Admiral Mike Mullen.
"I know the US is still recovering from the financial crisis," Chen said. "Under such circumstances, it is still spending a lot of money on its military and isn't that placing too much pressure on the taxpayers?"
"If the US could reduce its military spending a bit and spend more on improving the livelihood of the American people, wouldn't that be a better scenario?" he questioned.
The visit by Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is the first of its kind in four years. Mullen and Chen are trying to upgrade military-to-military ties after setbacks over US arms sales to Taiwan, cyberattacks traced to China and concern about Beijing's military plans.
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