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Mr Hagel will kick off a three-day tour of China with a visit to the carrier at Yuchi naval base in Qingdao, the first foreigner allowed aboard the vessel by the often secretive Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA), officials said.
The carrier visit was "significant" as Washington has tried to forge a dialogue with China's top brass to defuse tensions and prodded Beijing to be more open about its military, said a senior US defence official.
"We requested this and they agreed," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The carrier, the Liaoning, "symbolises for the PLA their ambition to project naval power," the official said.
The Liaoning was a Soviet-made warship based in Ukraine that the Chinese bought and refitted, completing the work in September 2012 in a symbolic milestone for the country's expanding military.
China also reportedly has started constructing the second of four planned aircraft carriers, amid plans to begin operating an air wing of about 30 planes off the Liaoning as early as next year.
Unlike American aircraft carriers, the Liaoning is not nuclear-powered and has a shorter range, and it has no catapult system for launching aircraft but merely an inclined ramp.
The Liaoning nevertheless reinforces the image of China as a military power with global reach and could be used in confrontations with smaller countries that have territorial disputes with Beijing, analysts say.
The carrier also coincides with major investments in submarines, anti-ship missiles and other hardware designed to bolster China's naval clout in an area once solely dominated by the American fleet.
Before travelling to China, Mr Hagel warned Beijing against unilateral action to resolve territorial disagreements with its smaller neighbours, drawing a parallel with Russia's incursion in Ukraine.
"You cannot go around and redefine boundaries, violate territorial integrity and sovereignty of nations by force, coercion and intimidation -- whether it's in small islands in the Pacific, or large nations in Europe," Mr Hagel said on Sunday during a visit to Tokyo.
"So I want to talk to our Chinese friends about this."
He said he would talk to the Chinese about "respect for their neighbours" and that as "a great power," China has "great responsibilities."
His blunt comments underscored a tougher line in recent months by the US government on China's approach to territorial claims in the South China Sea and the East China Sea, after some Southeast Asian countries accused Beijing of intimidatory tactics.
While in Tokyo, Mr Hagel promised to send two more missile defence ships to Japan and reaffirmed Washington's military treaty commitments, seeking to reassure its longtime ally as Tokyo grapples with a tense dispute with Beijing over islands in the East China Sea.
The US ships would join five Aegis missile defence vessels already stationed in the area, and were part of an American strategic "rebalance" to the Asia-Pacific, officials said.
Mr Hagel's announcement follows the deployment of a second early warning US radar to Japan, P-8 maritime surveillance aircraft and plans to bring unmanned Global Hawk drones to the country.
Although Mr Hagel said the US warships were being sent to help counter the threat posed by North Korea, the move also carried symbolic weight amid Japan's tense stand-off with China over the East China Sea.
Tokyo scrambled military aircraft last month after three Chinese planes flew near Japanese airspace, the latest confrontation in the dispute.
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What we are (12 years ago)
About the game:
USA as a world power? In E-Sim it is possible!
In E-Sim we have a huge, living world, which is a mirror copy of the Earth. Well, maybe not completely mirrored, because the balance of power in this virtual world looks a bit different than in real life. In E-Sim, USA does not have to be a world superpower, It can be efficiently managed as a much smaller country that has entrepreneurial citizens that support it's foundation. Everything depends on the players themselves and how they decide to shape the political map of the game.
Work for the good of your country and see it rise to an empire.
Activities in this game are divided into several modules. First is the economy as a citizen in a country of your choice you must work to earn money, which you will get to spend for example, on food or purchase of weapons which are critical for your progress as a fighter. You will work in either private companies which are owned by players or government companies which are owned by the state. After progressing in the game you will finally get the opportunity to set up your own business and hire other players. If it prospers, we can even change it into a joint-stock company and enter the stock market and get even more money in this way.
In E-Sim, international wars are nothing out of the ordinary.
Become an influential politician.
The second module is a politics. Just like in real life politics in E-Sim are an extremely powerful tool that can be used for your own purposes. From time to time there are elections in the game in which you will not only vote, but also have the ability to run for the head of the party you're in. You can also apply for congress, where once elected you will be given the right to vote on laws proposed by your fellow congress members or your president and propose laws yourself. Voting on laws is important for your country as it can shape the lives of those around you. You can also try to become the head of a given party, and even take part in presidential elections and decide on the shape of the foreign policy of a given state (for example, who to declare war on). Career in politics is obviously not easy and in order to succeed in it, you have to have a good plan and compete for the votes of voters.
You can go bankrupt or become a rich man while playing the stock market.
The international war.
The last and probably the most important module is military. In E-Sim, countries are constantly fighting each other for control over territories which in return grant them access to more valuable raw materials. For this purpose, they form alliances, they fight international wars, but they also have to deal with, for example, uprisings in conquered countries or civil wars, which may explode on their territory. You can also take part in these clashes, although you are also given the opportunity to lead a life as a pacifist who focuses on other activities in the game (for example, running a successful newspaper or selling products).
At the auction you can sell or buy your dream inventory.
E-Sim is a unique browser game. Its creators ensured realistic representation of the mechanisms present in the real world and gave all power to the players who shape the image of the virtual Earth according to their own. So come and join them and help your country achieve its full potential.
Invest, produce and sell - be an entrepreneur in E-Sim.
Take part in numerous events for the E-Sim community.
