Washington, D.C., United States (AHN) – The United States is calling on China to increase transparency and expand its bilateral dialog as Beijing prepares to test its first domestically refitted aircraft carrier. During a press conference in Washington, State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland called on China to play a more open role in global affairs.

“We have had concerns for some time, and we’ve been quite open about them with regard to the lack of transparency from China regarding its power projection and its lack of access and denial capabilities,” Nuland said. “So we want to see more transparency. We would welcome any kind of explanation that China would like to give for needing this kind of equipment. And as you know, President Obama and President Hu have stated together that they want a healthy and reliable military-to-military relationship.”

“This is part of our larger concern that China is not as transparent as other countries. It’s not as transparent as the United States about its military acquisitions, about its military budget. And this causes concern, and we’d like to have the kind of open, transparent relationship in military-to-military affairs,” Nuland explained.

“We are prepared to be extremely transparent with regard to U.S. military positions and equipment, and we’d like to have a reciprocal relationship with China, and that’s what our presidents have said we ought to aspire to. So it’s in that context that we make these comments today with regard to this particular acquisition,” Nuland added.

The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) has been working to expand its naval air presence for decades, purchasing four former Soviet Union-built aircraft carries, including the Admiral Kuznetsov class ‘Varyag.’ China has refitted the Varyag and on August 10 announced the ship will soon undergo seatrials.

The refitted aircraft carrier will presumably fly Chinese j-15 ‘Flying Shark’ jet fighters, modeled on the Sukhoi SU-33 ‘Naval Flankers.’

View full post on All Stories