China military official visits U.S.

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A vice-chairman of China's Central Military Commission has left for the United States on the highest ranking military visit since a Chinese fighter jet collided with a U.S. surveillance plane in 2001.

Guo Boxiong, who ranks second only to President Hu Jintao in the commission, China's top military body, left on Sunday for Washington, at the invitation of U.S. Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, the official Xinhua new agency said.

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Guo's trip is the latest sign of improving military relations between Beijing and Washington, cut off after the spy plane crash over the South China Sea, sparking a diplomatic feud.

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The U.S., which has repeatedly said Beijing's military build-up is not transparent, is keen for China to reciprocate the access Washington has given the Chinese defence forces, Pentagon officials have said.

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