DATE=4/5/99
TYPE=BACKGROUND REPORT
NUMBER=5-43023
TITLE=CHINA/U-S RELATIONS
BYLINE=STEPHANIE HO
DATELINE=BEIJING
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: ON THE EVE OF CHINESE PREMIER ZHU RONGJI'S TRIP TO THE
UNITED STATES, THE SPOTLIGHT IS ONCE AGAIN SHINING ON TIES
BETWEEN WASHINGTON AND BEIJING. V-O-A'S STEPHANIE HO REPORTS,
THE U-S-CHINA RELATIONSHIP IS CURRENTLY SUFFERING FROM
DIFFERENCES OVER A HOST OF ISSUES.
TEXT: AT A NEWS CONFERENCE LAST MONTH, CHINESE PREMIER ZHU
ACKNOWLEDGED THAT RELATIONS BETWEEN CHINA AND THE UNITED STATES
ARE FAR FROM PERFECT.
// ZHU AND INTERPRETER ACT // (CHINESE)
DUE TO VARIOUS REASONS, WHICH I DON'T SEE THE NEED TO MENTION
HERE, THERE HAS EMERGED AN ANTI-CHINA WAVE IN THE UNITED STATES,
WHICH HAS CAUSED CONCERN FROM OUR SIDE.
// END ACT //
AMERICAN POLICYMAKERS DISAGREE WITH THE CHINESE PREMIER THAT THE
CURRENT DIFFERENCES AMOUNT TO MERE CHINA-BASHING, AS OPPOSED TO
SERIOUS DIFFERENCES OVER MAJOR POLICY ISSUES. BUT WHATEVER THE
PERSPECTIVE, PROFESSOR DAVID SHAMBAUGH -- GEORGE WASHINGTON
UNIVERSITY'S DIRECTOR OF CHINA POLICY STUDIES -- AGREES MR. ZHU
FACES AN INHOSPITABLE ATMOSPHERE IN THE UNITED STATES.
// SHAMBAUGH ACT //
THE U-S POLITICAL CLIMATE IS SO HOSTILE RIGHT NOW TO CHINA THAT
HE IS WALKING INTO A SNAKE PIT.
// END ACT //
PROFESSOR SHAMBAUGH SAYS INSTEAD OF BEING STRATEGIC PARTNERS, THE
UNITED STATES AND CHINA ARE MORE LIKE COMPETITORS ON THE WORLD
STAGE.
// SHAMBAUGH ACT //
I SEE THE TWO AS DIVERGING RATHER THAN GROWING CLOSER. THERE'S
NO STRATEGIC GLUE IN THE RELATIONSHIP.
// END ACT //
HE ADDS THAT THE AMERICAN PUBLIC VIEWS CHINA WITH DEEP SUSPICION
FOR A HOST OF REASONS.
U-S MEDIA IN RECENT WEEKS HAVE BEEN FULL OF REPORTS OF ALLEGED
CHINESE THEFT OF U-S NUCLEAR TECHNOLOGY FROM A LABORATORY IN LOS
ALAMOS, NEW MEXICO. ALSO, WASHINGTON HAS DECIDED TO SPONSOR A
RESOLUTION CRITICAL OF CHINA AT THE ANNUAL UNITED NATIONS HUMAN
RIGHTS MEETING IN GENEVA.
ALLEGED CHINESE EFFORTS TO INFLUENCE AMERICAN POLITICAL CAMPAIGNS
IS ALSO AN ISSUE THAT HAS NOT GONE AWAY. ON SUNDAY, THE LOS
ANGELES TIMES NEWSPAPER REPORTED THAT CHINA'S HEAD OF MILITARY
INTELLIGENCE, GENERAL JI SHENGDE, GAVE 300-THOUSAND DOLLARS TO
JOHNNY CHUNG TO SUBSIDIZE CAMPAIGN DONATIONS FOR PRESIDENT
CLINTON. TRADE IS ANOTHER SORE SPOT, ALTHOUGH BUSINESS BETWEEN
THE TWO SIDES CONTINUES. U-S COMMERCE SECRETARY WILLIAM DALEY
WAS IN CHINA LAST WEEK TO PRESIDE OVER THE SIGNING OF SEVERAL
BUSINESS DEALS.
// DALEY ACT //
I'M VERY HAPPY TO REPORT THAT MY THIRD VISIT TO BEIJING AS
COMMERCE SECRETARY HAS BEEN MOST PRODUCTIVE.
// END ACT //
BUT MR. DALEY STRESSED THAT IT WILL TAKE MUCH MORE FROM THE
CHINESE SIDE THAN A FEW DEALS TO NARROW A 57-BILLION DOLLAR U-S
TRADE DEFICIT WITH CHINA.
FOR ITS PART, BEIJING HAS STRONGLY CRITICIZED THE NATO AIR
STRIKES AGAINST YUGOSLAVIA. ON SUNDAY, THE STATE-RUN YANGCHENG
EVENING NEWS CALLED YUGOSLAV PRESIDENT SLOBODAN MILOSEVIC A FOLK
HERO. AT THE SAME TIME, THE NEWSPAPER RAN A COLOR PICTURE OF
PRESIDENT CLINTON, WITH A HITLER MUSTACHE SUPERIMPOSED ON HIS
FACE.
DESPITE BEIJING'S DIFFERENCES WITH WASHINGTON, THOUGH, CHINESE
PREMIER ZHU SAYS HE STILL MUST MAKE HIS U-S TRIP.
// ZHU AND INTERPRETER ACT // (CHINESE)
MY VISIT TO THE UNITED STATES IS DESIGNED TO LET ME TO TELL
YOU THE TRUTH. AND ALSO TO LET YOU VENT YOUR ANGER OR LET YOU
VENT YOUR COMPLAINTS. AND ALSO TO RESUME THE GOOD MOMENTUM OF
BUILDING TOWARDS CONSTRUCTIVE STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN CHINA
AND THE UNITED STATES.
// END ACT //
MR. ZHU SAYS HE KNOWS THE ATMOSPHERE IN THE UNITED STATES WILL
NOT BE SO GOOD, BECAUSE OF RECENT EVENTS. BUT HE SAYS HE HOPES
HE WILL NOT BE WALKING INTO A MINEFIELD. (SIGNED)
NEB/HO/FC
05-Apr-99 6:08 AM EDT (1008 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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