主题：【原创】纽约时报1月11日对四代首飞的报道 -- 密银

BEIJING — In a show of force that seemed aimed at the United States and visiting Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, China conducted the first test-flight of its new stealth fighter jet on Tuesday, only hours before Mr. Gates met with President Hu Jintao about ways to reduce tensions between the militaries of both countries.

The test flight, a sign of an increasingly assertive Chinese military that appears to relish standing up to the United States, was apparently not known to Mr. Hu until Mr. Gates mentioned it during their meeting.

A senior Defense official said that Mr. Gates and his entourage were startled that Mr. Hu and all other Chinese civilian officials appeared unaware of the test flight when Mr. Gates first asked about it. Photos of the flight of the radar-evading plane, the J-20, had been prominently posted on unofficial Chinese military Web sites only a few hours before the meeting.

In comments to reporters afterward, Mr. Gates said he directly asked Mr. Hu why the test of the J-20, a radar-evading jet that has the same two angled tailfins that are the trademark of the Pentagon’s own stealth fighter, the F-22 Raptor, was conducted during his trip to Beijing. Mr. Hu replied, Mr. Gates said, that it “had absolutely nothing to do with my visit.”

Asked if he truly believed that, Mr. Gates said “I take President Hu at his word.” Mr. Gates did not address how Mr. Hu could know that the test-flight had nothing to do with his visit if Mr. Hu did not know about the test flight until the Americans had informed him.

Mr. Gates acknowledged that the episode raised questions about whether the Chinese military was acting independently of the country’s political leadership. “I’ve had concerns about this over time,” Mr. Gates said.

A Hong Kong-based expert on the Chinese military, Andrei Chang, said in a telephone interview that the Chinese stealth fighter flew for about 15 minutes over an airfield in the southwestern city of Chengdu. Photos of the jet in flight also appeared on a computer bulletin board run by Global Times, a state-run newspaper known for its hawkish positions.

American officials said they clearly saw the test flight as a display of muscle by China’s military but were unsure who the show was meant for — the United States and Mr. Gates or Mr. Hu. Mr. Hu has never had good relations with the Chinese military, which is overseen by the Communist Party. Some American officials speculated that the test-flight was meant in part as an act of defiance against Mr. Hu, who has ordered the Chinese military to try to smooth over years of rocky relations with the Pentagon. Mr. Gates made the trip here at the request of Mr. Hu, who is due to meet with President Obama at the White House next week and by all accounts is eager for his American visit to be a success.

The rapidly modernizing Chinese military, which has increasingly challenged the United States Navy in the waters of the Pacific, first rolled out the plane last week, in what was regarded as a tough-minded welcome to Mr. Gates before he even arrived in the country. Mr. Gates, however, reacted by downplaying the significance of the spectacle. In comments to reporters on his plane en route to Beijing he questioned “just how stealthy” the Chinese fighter really is.

The airborne debut of the J-20 capped a series of recent tests that resembled at times a celebration of the nation’s growing military and technological might.

In a string of demonstrations last week at an aviation center in Chengdu, a central China metropolis, the fighter taxied down a runway on Wednesday, then reappeared on Thursday for another high-speed runway test, almost taking off before parachutes popped out and slowed it to a halt.

That test was watched by a crowd of luminaries ferried to the site in a Boeing 737, according to Mr. Chang. On Friday, two Boeingsful of officials watched another runway test, this time staging a ceremony and snapping pictures of themselves with the test pilot. Yet another large crowd witnessed Tuesday’s first fight, Mr. Chang said.

Such military high-fives must be measured against the long road the J-20 almost certainly must travel. Consider that the F-22 Raptor, the Air Force’s current stealth fighter, was conceived in 1981, took its first test flight in 1990 — and did not enter operational service until 2004, 14 years later.

The Pentagon ordered four F-22 prototypes built to speed F-22 development. As far as is known, the Chinese have built two. Mr. Chang estimated that it could be a decade before China’s stealth plane enters production.

In that sense, the hoopla surrounding the tests — both inside and outside China— suggests that the symbolism of Tuesday’s flight may considerably outweigh its immediate significance.

The test came at a time when Pentagon officials have more forcefully pushed the Chinese military to be less secretive about its intent and its weapons. Chinese military experts noted at the very least the test flight was transparent.