China foreign minister warns Clinton on F-16 deal

NEW YORK (Reuters) - China's foreign minister urged the United States on Monday to reconsider its decision to upgrade Taiwan's F-16 jet fighter fleet, saying it could harm ties between Washington and Beijing, a U.S. official said.

Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi delivered the warning to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during a one-hour meeting in New York on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly, the senior State Department official said.

"(Yang) was making very serious representations to Secretary Clinton, asked the Obama administration to reconsider its decision and indicated that it would harm the trust and confidence that was established between the two sides," the official said.

U.S. arms sales to Taiwan, a self-ruled island that Beijing says eventually must unify with the mainland, have been a persistent irritant in Sino-U.S. ties, adding to economic strains between Washington and Beijing, America's largest overseas creditor.

The U.S. official said that China had indicated in recent meetings with U.S. officials that some military-to-military activities with the United States would be canceled or postponed because of the planned $5.3 billion upgrade deal. Congress was notified of the upgrade plan last week.

China's People's Liberation Army suspended ties with the U.S. military for most of 2010 after a previous $6.4 billion U.S. arms package for Taiwan.

Clinton told Yang that the United States had "strategic interests" in maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and was obligated by the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act to supply the self-ruled island sufficient arms for its defense.

The act was passed the same year the United States switched diplomatic recognition to Beijing from Taipei. China considers Taiwan a breakaway province to be reunified with the mainland eventually, by force if necessary.

"(Clinton) underscored her view that in fact it was the confidence, the strong support of the United States, that had provided Taiwan with the confidence to reach out in diplomacy with Beijing over the course of the last several years," the U.S. official said.

SEVERAL IRRITANTS

"She indicated that she would like to see that series of interactions and trust and confidence across the Taiwan Straits increase and grow in the time ahead," the official said.

Arms sales are one of several irritants in the Sino-U.S. relationship, which include Washington's decision to challenge Chinese duties on U.S. poultry products and U.S. pressure on China to loosen controls on its currency.

At the same time the United States is seeking China's cooperation on several issues. Clinton also asked Yang to start and dialogue with the United States on Pakistan, which Washington has accused of supporting the Haqqani militant group, a chief driver of violence in eastern Afghanistan.

Clinton also asked for China's support for a strong U.N. Security Council resolution on Syria, where a bloody crackdown by President Bashar al-Assad's forces on pro-democracy protesters has sparked international outrage.

China opposes U.S. arms sales to Taiwan on the grounds they would sabotage Beijing's plans for reunification. Washington says it wants Beijing and Taipei to determine their future peacefully.

Taiwan said the F-16 upgrade -- which includes sales of advanced air-to-air missiles, laser- and GPS-guided bombs and radars -- would contribute to regional peace by improving its defense capability in the face of what it called a continued threat from China.

But despite Beijing's anger over the Taiwan fleet upgrade, tensions appear unlikely to match those of last year, when Chinese outrage over an earlier U.S. arms offer added to several disputes that roiled ties with Washington.

This year both sides have sought to keep relations on a steadier path ahead of 2012, when President Barack Obama faces re-election and China's Communist Party undergoes a leadership handover.

(Editing by Cynthia Osterman and Jackie Frank)