China says stealth technology not from US plane

BEIJING (AP) — An official Chinese newspaper on Tuesday dismissed a report that the country used technology taken from a downed U.S. airplane in its own stealth fighter program.

Chinese officials this month staged the first-known test flight of the J-20 prototype stealth fighter that could one day challenge American air superiority.

The flight came during a rare visit to China by U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates and caught many defense analysts by surprise, seeming to indicate that China was acquiring cutting-edge technology more rapidly than previously thought.

China says the plane is based entirely on indigenous designs, and the Global Times on Tuesday quoted an …