China suspends military exchanges with US

China suspended military exchange visits with the United States on Saturday in protest over $6.4 billion in planned U.S. arms sales to Taiwan and warned the U.S. ambassador that the sales would harm already strained ties. The state-run Xinhua News Agency cited the Defense Ministry as saying the suspension is due to the "severe harm" of the arms sales on the two countries' military relations. China took a similar step in 2008 after the former Bush administration announced a multibillion-dollar arms sale to Taiwan–the most sensitive issue in U.S.-China relations. The latest arms sales could complicate the cooperation the U.S. seeks on issues ranging from Iran's nuclear program to the loosening of Internet controls, including a Google-China standoff over censorship. China claims the self-governing Taiwan as its own, while the United States is Taiwan's most important ally and largest arms supplier. The U.S. government is bound by law to ensure the island is able to respond to Chinese threats.