DATE=6/16/98
TYPE=BACKGROUND REPORT
NUMBER=5-40700
TITLE=U-S / CHINA RELATIONS
BYLINE=STEPHANIE MANN
DATELINE=WASHINGTON
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: AS PRESIDENT CLINTON PREPARES TO TRAVEL TO CHINA NEXT
WEEK FOR A SUMMIT WITH CHINESE PRESIDENT JIANG ZEMIN, HIS
ADMINISTRATION'S TIES WITH BEIJING ARE UNDER CLOSE SCRUTINY.
HOWEVER, CHINA SCHOLARS IN THE UNITED STATES SAY SINO-U-S
RELATIONS ARE STRONGER THAN THEY HAVE BEEN IN RECENT YEARS,
DESPITE CONTROVERSIES OVER TECHNOLOGY TRANSFERS AND CAMPAIGN
CONTRIBUTIONS. CORRESPONDENT STEPHANIE MANN REPORTS.
TEXT: PRESIDENT CLINTON'S TRIP TO BEIJING AND SEVERAL OTHER
CHINESE CITIES IS A RECIPROCAL VISIT FOR PRESIDENT JIANG ZEMIN'S
TOUR OF THE UNITED STATES LAST OCTOBER. BUT THIS WILL BE THE
FIRST TRIP BY A U-S PRESIDENT TO CHINA SINCE THE CHINESE ARMY
CRACKED DOWN ON THE 1989 STUDENT PROTEST MOVEMENT. AND JUST OVER
TWO YEARS AGO, U-S AIRCRAFT CARRIERS WERE FACE TO FACE WITH
CHINESE FORCES IN A SHOWDOWN OVER CHINESE MISSILE THREATS AGAINST
TAIWAN.
IN ADDITION TO DIFFERENCES OVER HUMAN RIGHTS AND TAIWAN, THE LIST
OF PROBLEMS BETWEEN BEIJING AND WASHINGTON INCLUDES DISAGREEMENTS
ABOUT WEAPONS SALES AND NUCLEAR PROLIFERATION, AS WELL AS
DISPUTES OVER TRADE POLICY IN GENERAL AND OVER SPECIFIC TRADE
ISSUES.
LONG-TIME CHINA WATCHER THOMAS ROBINSON SAYS TENSION IS TO BE
EXPECTED IN U-S/CHINESE RELATIONS.
// ROBINSON ACT //
THERE'S ALWAYS PROBLEMS. I DO NOT SUBSCRIBE TO THE VIEW
THAT THERE'S A LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL AND ALL WE
HAVE TO DO IS PROCEED THROUGH THE TUNNEL TO THAT LIGHT
AND WE'LL BE OUT INTO THE SMOOTHNESS AFTER THAT. I
THINK THE PROBLEMS HAVE TO DO WITH THE GENERAL NATURE OF
SINO-AMERICAN RELATIONS, WHICH IS SUSPICIONS ON BOTH
SIDES.
// END ACT //
MR. ROBINSON, PRESIDENT OF AMERICAN-ASIAN RESEARCH ENTERPRISES IN
SUBURBAN WASHINGTON, SAYS THE LATEST PROBLEMS OVER POSSIBLY
ILLEGAL CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS FROM CHINA AND THE UNAUTHORIZED
TRANSFER OF SENSITIVE TECHNOLOGY TO CHINA MAY MAKE THE SUMMIT
LESS FRUITFUL THAN IT MIGHT HAVE BEEN. BUT HE SAYS THE TWO SIDES
NEED TO KEEP WORKING TO RESOLVE THESE KINDS OF PROBLEMS, KNOWING
THAT OTHERS WILL CROP UP IN THEIR PLACE.
// OPT // RICHARD HAASS, THE DIRECTOR OF FOREIGN POLICY STUDIES
AT THE BROOKINGS INSTITUTION, A LIBERAL WASHINGTON RESEARCH
CENTER, SAYS CURRENT U-S/CHINA RELATIONS ARE BETTER THAN THEY
SEEM ON THE SURFACE. MR. HAASS SAYS PEOPLE IN WASHINGTON WHO ARE
PREOCCUPIED WITH THE LATEST CONTROVERSIES MAY NOT BE AWARE OF
THAT.
// OPT HAASS ACT //
DESPITE ALL THE PROBLEMS, ALL THE DIFFERENCES THAT ARE
THERE, AND THAT WILL INDEED REMAIN THERE, THIS IS A
RELATIONSHIP THAT IS EVOLVING CONSTRUCTIVELY AND
SIGNIFICANTLY. OR TO PUT IT ANOTHER WAY, AN ADVERSARY
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND CHINA IS BY
NO MEANS INEVITABLE. INDEED, I WOULD SUGGEST IT'S BY
NO MEANS EVEN PROBABLE.
// END ACT // END OPT //
FORMER U-S AMBASSADOR TO CHINA, ARTHUR HUMMEL, SAYS THE PROBLEMS
IN SINO-AMERICAN RELATIONS DO NOT OUTWEIGH THE POSITIVE STEPS
THAT HAVE BEEN MADE.
// HUMMEL ACT //
I THINK WE ARE ON A GOOD TRACK. THE CLINTON
ADMINISTRATION TOOK QUITE SOME TIME TO BEGIN TO FOCUS ON
RELATIONS WITH THE P-R-C; AND IN FACT, IT WAS PARTLY
BEIJING'S USE OF MISSILES IN THE TAIWAN STRAIT A LITTLE
MORE THAN TWO YEARS AGO THAT BEGAN TO REALLY FOCUS THE
APPROPRIATE ATTENTION. AND SINCE THAT TIME, THE
ADMINISTRATION I THINK IS DOING PRETTY WELL IN REPAIRING
SOME OF THE DAMAGE THAT HAD BEEN DONE IN THE PAST,
PARTLY BY CHINA'S OWN MISTAKES AND PARTLY BY THE
ADMINISTRATION'S INATTENTION.
// END ACT //
AMBASSADOR HUMMEL, WHO SERVED IN BEIJING IN THE EARLY 1980'S,
SAYS THE FOUNDATION OF SINO-U-S RELATIONS IS STRONG ENOUGH TO
WITHSTAND SCRUTINY AND CRITICISM FROM CONGRESS AND THE MEDIA. HE
SAYS THE UNITED STATES MUST DETERMINE THE BEST WAY TO GET ALONG
WITH CHINA IN TERMS OF AMERICA'S OWN NATIONAL INTERESTS, WITHOUT
COMPROMISING ITS SENSE OF MORALITY.
ANOTHER FORMER U-S AMBASSADOR TO CHINA, JAMES LILLEY, AGREES TIES
WITH CHINA ARE BETTER NOW THAN THEY WERE DURING THE FIRST CLINTON
ADMINISTRATION, IN THE EARLY AND MID-1990'S.
// OPT // FOR EXAMPLE, HE SAYS AT THAT TIME, MR. CLINTON WAS
VASCILLATING ON WHETHER TO LINK CHINA'S MOST FAVORED NATION TRADE
STATUS TO HUMAN RIGHTS IMPROVEMENTS. IN ADDITION, MR. LILLEY
SAYS THE ADMINISTRATION MISHANDLED THE 1995 VISIT TO THE UNITED
STATES BY TAIWAN PRESIDENT LEE DENG-HUI, WHICH LED TO THE
MILITARY SHOWDOWN IN THE TAIWAN STRAITS IN 1996. // END OPT //
HOW WOULD HE ADVISE PRESIDENT CLINTON IN ADVANCE OF THE SUMMIT?
AMBASSADOR LILLEY, WHO SERVED IN BEIJING IN THE EARLY 1990'S,
SAYS COMMON CONCERNS ABOUT REGIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL ISSUES
SHOULD TAKE PRECEDENCE OVER HUMAN RIGHTS.
// LILLEY ACT //
FIRST OF ALL, YOU HAVE TO GET YOUR PRIORITIES STRAIGHT,
AND THE PRIORITY RIGHT NOW IS THE ASIAN ECONOMIC
MELTDOWN. AND CHINA IS A BIG ACTOR THAT HAS SO FAR
ACTED RESPONSIBLY. WE ARE A VERY BIG ACTOR.
INDONESIA'S IN DEEP TROUBLE, KOREA MAY BE IN TROUBLE,
(AND) THAILAND, MALAYSIA. WE'VE GOT TO WORK WITH THE
CHINESE ON THIS. THIS IS ISSUE NUMBER ONE. ISSUE
NUMBER TWO ... KOREA, INDIA-PAKISTAN, MIDDLE EAST
STABILITY. AND WE'VE GOT TO WORK WITH THEM ON THAT.
THEN, YOU CAN DEAL WITH HUMAN RIGHTS AND OTHER MATTERS.
// END ACT //
IN RECENT SPEECHES AND NEWS CONFERENCES, PRESIDENT CLINTON HAS
DEFENDED HIS ADMINISTRATION'S APPROACH TO CHINA, SAYING THE TWO
COUNTRIES HAVE A PARTNERSHIP IN DEALING WITH NORTH KOREA AND THE
NUCLEAR ARMS RACE IN SOUTH ASIA. MR. CLINTON ALSO POINTS TO
CHINESE COOPERATION ON NUCLEAR NON-PROLIFERATION AND SOME
ADVANCES IN THE AREAS OF HUMAN AND POLITICAL RIGHTS. THE
PRESIDENT SAYS HE WANTS TO BUILD ON THOSE POSITIVE STEPS DURING
HIS TRIP. (SIGNED)
NEB/SMN /MMK
16-Jun-98 2:22 PM EDT (1822 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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