China and the US are likely to jointly announce the establishment of a military hotline linking the Chinese defense ministry and the Pentagon today as US Defense Secretary Robert Gates visits China, sources said.

Gates arrived in Beijing late last night on the first stop of his week-long Asian tour, which will also take him to South Korea and Japan. He will meet with President Hu Jintao as well as other top military officials in Beijing.

Analysts believe the possible establishment of the military hotline will mark improved security ties between the two countries. However, they said Washington remained concerned about China's rapid military expansion, despite Beijing's insistence that it is committed to peaceful development as its economy booms.

Before he started the China trip, Gates said he did not consider China a military threat to America and relations between the two countries have warmed considerably since 2001, when a US spy plane collided with a Chinese fighter jet over the South China Sea, leading to soured relations between the Chinese and US militaries.

The ongoing visit is the first one for Gates as the US defense secretary. Gates was invited by Central Military Commission Vice-Chairman, and Defense Minister General Cao Gangchuan.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said last week at a regular news briefing that during Gates' visit Chinese military officials will exchange views with him on current regional and international security situation, relations between the two countries, the two militaries and other issues.

Hot issues to top the agenda are believed to include the Taiwan question and the nuclear issues of the Korean peninsula and Iran, observers said.

Military exchanges have become more frequent, including reciprocal high-level visits.

Commander-in-Chief of the US Pacific Command, Admiral Timothy Keating, made his first China visit in May after taking office on March 26.

In late March, the Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, Peter Pace, made his first visit to China.

Last July, Vice-Chairman of the Central Military Commission visited the US, while the former commander of US forces in the Pacific, Admiral William J. Fallon visited China twice in 2006.

(China Daily November 5, 2007)