China - US missile shield talks 'constructive'

China and the United States are at odds over a proposed US missile shield, but initial talks on the issue were constructive, a US envoy said today.

State Department official James Kelly said Chinese officials agreed to further discussions over the planned missile defence system along with US proposals for curbing weapons proliferation and reducing America’s nuclear forces.

‘‘Although we clearly still have differences of opinion, our consultations on this subject were constructive and constitute a good beginning,’’ Kelly said in a departure statement released by the US Embassy.

Earlier, China’s Foreign Ministry said talks yesterday had not softened Beijing’s opposition.

Ministry spokesman Sun Yuxi urged Washington to abandon its plan, saying the system would endanger the global strategic balance, spark an arms race and frustrate arms control efforts.

China would not ‘‘wait idly and see its national interests being undermined,’’ Sun told reporters yesterday, without specifically saying how China would respond. China has previously said it could beef up its small nuclear arsenal or improve the technology of its missiles to overcome the US defences.

Kelly, an assistant secretary for east Asian and Pacific affairs, met with China’s chief arms control official, Sha Zukang, and other Foreign Ministry officials.

Kelly said he reiterated US arguments that the system wasn’t aimed at China, but intended to defend against accidental missile launches or attacks from unpredictable countries such as North Korea.

‘‘I stressed that our plans for a missile defence system would not be a threat to China,’’ Kelly said.

His China visit and earlier stops in Japan, South Korea, Australia and Singapore were part of a global diplomatic push by the United States to ameliorate concerns over the system.

US diplomats have been dispatched to Russia, which has joined with China in opposing the plan, as well as to US allies in Europe who have given the US plans a tepid response.

Kelly said the sides also discussed returning the US Navy EP-3E Aries II surveillance plane that made an emergency landing on southern China’s Hainan island after an April 1 collision with a Chinese fighter jet over the South China Sea.

The crash, which killed the Chinese pilot, and China’s 11-day detention of the US plane’s crew, inflamed nationalist passions on both sides.

China has refused to allow the United States to fly the plane home after repairs. However, the two sides agreed to use diplomatic channels to secure the plane’s quick release, Kelly said.

Taiwan and China’s human rights records, issues on which China and the United States differ sharply, also were discussed during the talks, Kelly said.

China considers Taiwan its territory and objects strongly to US arms sales to the island.

In addition, China has protested Washington’s allowing Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian to soon visit the United States on his way to and from Latin America, saying that violates US promises not to have official contacts with Taiwan’s government.

Beijing rejects as bullying Washington’s criticism that it jails political opponents, muzzles free speech and restricts freedom of worship.