BEIJING, China (AP) -- Robert Gates, making his first visit to China as U.S. defense secretary, is expected to press the Chinese to do more to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear capabilities.

Gates has made it clear that he is pursuing a closer alliance with China.

Before he left Saturday for the trip, Gates made it clear that he is pursuing a closer alliance with China, and said he doesn't see the communist giant as a military threat.
But at the same time, senior defense officials said the Pentagon is still frustrated by China's failure to be more open about its military ambitions. And Gates will probably push China to better explain its anti-satellite test early this year.
In January, a Chinese missile shattered a defunct Chinese weather satellite, drawing immediate criticism from the U.S. and other countries, who questioned China's commitment to peaceful development in space. Since then, U.S. officials have struggled to get better answers from the Chinese about it.
Both the U.S. and China are touting the Gates visit as a major event, aimed at improving the two countries' military relationship and building trust between them.
In a series of annual reports, the Pentagon has voiced growing concern about China's increased military might and its reluctance to reveal why its annual defense budget has ballooned in recent years.
China raised its military budget by 17.8 percent to about $45 billion this year, the largest annual increase in more than a decade. But U.S. officials believe the spending is even greater than that, and have repeatedly called for greater transparency by the Chinese.
Derek Mitchell, senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said it appears Gates is taking a different approach to his China visit than his predecessor, Donald Rumsfeld, took.
"Rumsfeld had no problem accentuating the differences between the two sides," Mitchell said. "Gates is much more moderate, and he's talking more moderately in public."
Mitchell said that while a less aggressive manner may be helpful, "you certainly need to deal with China from a point of strength."
"You can't just jawbone it and allow the Chinese to say, 'Just be patient, we're working on it,"' he said. "Too much patience with the Chinese will get you nowhere."
Gates is scheduled to meet with a number of top Chinese leaders, including President Hu Jintao.
Senior defense officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the meetings have not yet taken place, said Gates is likely to bring up the Iranian issue.
"We think China could do more on Iran," said one of the officials, adding that the U.S. and China have a common responsibility to do what is necessary to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear capability.
The U.S. is looking for China to recognize that weapons it sells to Iran have shown up in other countries -- such as Iraq. "There is clear evidence that the Chinese can't trust Iran to behave responsibly with any weapons that they sell them," said the official. "That, in our view, should lead China to the conclusion that they shouldn't sell any weapons to Iran."
Gates' visit to China kicks off a three-country Asia tour, which will also include stops in South Korea and Japan