The new US military focus on the Asia-Pacific marks a major change that appears to target China, dpa cited Chinese state media and analysts as saying on Friday. "Pentagon plan changes game in Asia," said the headline of a commentary in the English-language Global Times, a newspaper under the ruling Communist Party's People's Daily group. The commentary said the US military strategy announced on Thursday showed that China was "a firm strategic target of the US" and that China's "efforts to improve Sino-US relations have proved incapable of offsetting US worries over its rise." "In front of such a US strategic adjustment, China should remain sober," it said, adding that China should "use its strength to gain friendship from the US." China's foreign and defence ministries made no comment on the Pentagon plan on Friday. Shi Yinhong, an international relations expert at People's University in Beijing, said the US shift of focus from the Middle East and North Africa towards the Asia-Pacific reflected a "historical transition." "There are three main concerns for the US, leading to the newly released defence strategy," Shi told dpa. Shi cited a weaker financial climate in the United States; over-investment in Afghanistan, Iraq and other places; and the "growth of China and Chinese military strength." "For its long-term plan, the US thinks it should strengthen the balance against China," he said. "I think the Chinese government will consider that it will face a more complicated strategic situation in Asia-Pacific region," Shi said. The Global Times said the United States and China were engaged in "competition unprecedented in history." Economic links would make it "impossible for the US to fully contain China," the commentary said. It said China should "strengthen its long-range strike abilities and put more deterrence on the US." "The US must realize that it cannot stop the rise of China and that being friendly to China is in its utmost interests," the commentary said. US President Barack Obama on Thursday unveiled a strategy for a leaner military, with US troops now fully withdrawn from Iraq and an ongoing drawdown from Afghanistan. Panetta said the US also faced the "rise of new powers across Asia" - an apparent reference to China, which he did not name. The Pentagon's strategic review document said China's military growth "must be accompanied by greater clarity of (Beijing's) strategic intentions," to avoid friction in the region. The document said that the US and China share a mutual strategic interest in East Asian stability.
