An Asian friend, musing about the difficulties in communication between Asians and Americans, once observed: "You carry around a dictionary in your head and I carry around a dictionary in my head, but sometimes your dictionary and my dictionary don't say the same thing."

So it seems between the United States and China, specifically between the Department of Defense and the People's Liberation Army, or PLA, Beijing's counterpart to the Pentagon. They can't seem to agree on the meaning of an admittedly awkward word, "transparency."

Secretary of Defense Robert Gates brought it up last weekend at the annual Shangri-la conference in Singapore, saying: "This century's most vexing challenges will require a significant level of trust and transparency between nations that may have differing perspectives and histories." Gates said that "distrust and secrecy can lead to miscalculation and unnecessary confrontation."

"We are concerned," Gates continued, "about the opaqueness of Beijing's military spending and modernization programs — issues described in the annual report on the Chinese armed forces recently released by the U.S. government."

A lack of transparency was a theme that ran through the Pentagon's annual report on "Military Power of the People's Republic of China."

Gates expressed much the same view, although in less strident terms, as did his predecessor, Donald Rumsfeld, in two previous Shangri-la conferences of defense officials from Asia and the Pacific. It must be said, however, that this emphasis on transparency seems a curious pronouncement from an administration in Washington that has been obsessed with secrecy.

China, which earlier had sent low-level delegations to the Shangri-la gathering (named for the luxury hotel in which it was held) this year sent a senior officer who spoke with authority, Lt. Gen. Zhang Qinsheng, deputy chief of the general staff. General Zhang made an argument that he based on a historical foundation.

"Due to differences in history, culture, social system and ideology," he said, "countries naturally disagree on what transparency means, and how to achieve it. Nothing in this world is absolute. Transparency is a relative concept, too."

"Anyhow," Zhang said, "it is obvious to all that China is gradually making progress in military transparency."

Last December, China published a "white paper" called "China's National Defense" that laid out China's strategic objectives more clearly than previous biennial reports.

"To build a powerful and fortified national defense," the report said, "is a strategic task of China's modernization drive."

It set timelines: To "lay a solid foundation" by 2010, "to make major progress by 2020," and to be able to win high-tech wars by mid-century.

Zhang did not refer to Sun Tzu, the Chinese strategist who, 2500 years ago, wrote a treatise, "The Art of War" that Chinese, including today's leaders of the PLA, have studied ever since. "All warfare," the treatise says, "is based on deception." In one passage, Sun Tzu became lyrical: "O subtlety and secrecy!"

Despite claims of transparency, Chinese military spending is opaque. The official figure for defense is $36 billion for 2006; Beijing has announced that will go up 17.8 percent in 2007. Almost no one outside of China, however, accepts the official figure because so much is hidden. The U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency puts it between $85 billion and $125 billion. Other estimates go up to $430 billion.

On the other hand, Zhang denounced the Pentagon's report on the PLA. "This report is unreliable," he said. "It is not to be believed."

Zhang contended the report reflected "a Cold War mindset" and "creates the so-called 'China threat' theory in the international community." Lastly, he claimed the report was detrimental to military relations between China and the United States.

Zhang demanded that the U.S. and Japan explain the missile defenses they plan to deploy.

"China is quite concerned about the intention of the United States and Japan," he said.

The Chinese delegation also wanted to know the intent of a budding defense initiative among the U.S., Japan, Australia, and India.

Gates begged off, saying he was new on the job and not familiar with that concept.

Maybe more transparent communication is coming. In response to former Secretary of Defense William Cohen, Zhang said a hotline between Beijing and Washington was about to be opened.

"In September this year," he said, "I will lead a delegation to the U.S. and meet with the U.S. military officials for the ninth time, and at that time we will finalize the establishment of the hotline."

Richard Halloran is a Honolulu-based journalist and former New York Times correspondent in Asia. His column appears weekly in Sunday's Focus section.