Donald Rumsfeld, the US defence secretary, this week travels to Beijing to discuss US-Sino military relations during a trip that will include a meeting with Hu Jintao, the Chinese president, and an unprecedented visit to China's strategic nuclear forces command.

In his first official visit to China, Mr Rumsfeld will attempt to improve military relations between the two powers, which have been strained since the collision of a Chinese fighter jet and an American EP-3 spy plane off the Chinese coast in 2001.