DATE=4/7/99
TYPE=BACKGROUND REPORT
NUMBER=5-43044
TITLE=U-S / CHINA / CHANGING RELATIONS
BYLINE=STEPHANIE MANN
DATELINE=WASHINGTON
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: U-S POLICY TOWARD CHINA HAS CHANGED CONSIDERABLY SINCE
PRESIDENT RICHARD NIXON'S HISTORIC TRIP TO BEIJING IN 1972. AS
V-O-A'S STEPHANIE MANN REPORTS, THE ISSUES ON THE AGENDA FOR
TOMORROW'S (THURSDAY'S) TALKS BETWEEN PRESIDENT CLINTON AND
VISITING CHINESE PRIME MINISTER ZHU RONGJI WERE NOT EVEN PART OF
THE PICTURE IN THE 1970'S.
TEXT: FORMER U-S CONGRESSMAN LEE HAMILTON HAS CLOSELY OBSERVED
U-S POLICY TOWARD CHINA FOR MORE THAN THREE DECADES. AS THE
FORMER CHAIRMAN AND RANKING MEMBER OF THE HOUSE COMMITTEE ON
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS AND CHAIRMAN OF ECONOMIC AND INTELLIGENCE
COMMITTEES, THE DEMOCRATIC CONGRESSMAN HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO
STUDY MANY ASPECTS OF U-S / CHINESE RELATIONS.
WHEN MR. HAMILTON WAS FIRST ELECTED AND JOINED THE HOUSE OF
REPRESENTATIVES IN 1965, THE UNITED STATES STILL RECOGNIZED THE
NATIONALIST GOVERNMENT ON TAIWAN AS THE LEGITIMATE CHINESE
GOVERNMENT. CONGRESSMAN HAMILTON DESCRIBES THE ATMOSPHERE AT
THAT TIME.
// HAMILTON ACT ONE //
WE JUST DIDN'T HAVE A RELATIONSHIP WITH (MAINLAND) CHINA
BACK THEN. THAT WAS BEFORE (PRESIDENT) NIXON WENT TO
CHINA. THE VIETNAM WAR SET THE WHOLE TONE. BUT EVEN
MORE THAN THE WAR, THE SOVIET AMERICAN RELATIONSHIP,
WHICH OF COURSE WAS MARKED BY GREAT HOSTILITY AND
ANTAGONISM, WAS THE OVERRIDING CONCERN OF AMERICAN
FOREIGN POLICY AT THE TIME. SO, WHEN I WENT TO
CONGRESS, WE HAD NO RELATIONSHIP WITH CHINA. TODAY, OF
COURSE, WE DO HAVE A RELATIONSHIP OF ENGAGEMENT. SO,
IT'S TURNED AROUND COMPLETELY.
// END ACT //
MR. HAMILTON SAYS IN THE 1970'S -- THE EARLY DAYS OF TIES BETWEEN
WASHINGTON AND BEIJING -- THE UNITED STATES VIEWED EVERY
INTERNATIONAL PROBLEM THROUGH WHAT HE CALLS THE PRISM OF THE COLD
WAR. THE POLICY OF CONTAINMENT (I.E. CONTAINING COMMUNISM) WAS
THE RATIONALE FOR AMERICAN FOREIGN POLICY, HE SAYS, AND THAT
SHAPED U-S ATTITUDES TOWARD CHINA. THE FORMER CONGRESSMAN SAYS
WASHINGTON DID NOT DEAL WITH CHINA AS CHINA, BUT ONLY AS A TOOL
-- THE SO-CALLED "CHINA CARD" -- IN THE COLD WAR STRUGGLE WITH
THE SOVIET UNION.
MR. HAMILTON, WHO RETIRED FROM CONGRESS THIS YEAR, IS NOW
DIRECTOR OF THE WOODROW WILSON INTERNATIONAL CENTER FOR SCHOLARS
-- A WASHINGTON ORGANIZATION THAT BRINGS TOGETHER SCHOLARS AND
POLICY MAKERS. OVER THE YEARS, HE HAS MADE A FEW VISITS TO
CHINA, AND REMARKS ABOUT THE COUNTRY'S CHANGES -- SAYING CHINA
HAS UNDERGONE ENORMOUS AND DYNAMIC GROWTH. /// OPT ///
CONGRESSMAN HAMILTON HAS MET SEVERAL CHINESE LEADERS, BEGINNING
WITH THE LATE PREMIER ZHOU ENLAI.
// HAMILTON ACT TWO // // OPT ACT //
VERY URBANE, VERY SOPHISTICATED, VERY WITTY, VERY
CONFIDENT MAN, VERY SURE OF HIMSELF. THEN I REMEMBER
DENG XIAOPING, NOT SO MUCH FROM VISITS TO CHINA, BUT
WHEN HE CAME OVER TO THIS COUNTRY TO VISIT. YOU HAD TO
LOOK TWICE IN A ROOM TO FIND HIM -- HE WAS SO SHORT.
// END ACT //
HE HAS ALSO MET PRESIDENT JIANG ZEMIN AND PRIME MINISTER ZHU
RONGJI.
// HAMILTON ACT THREE // // OPT ACT //
OVERALL A FASCINATING GROUP OF LEADERS, ENORMOUSLY
CAPABLE, VERY MUCH FOCUSED ON THE CHINESE NATIONAL
INTEREST. AND YOU GOT A REAL SENSE OF THAT COUNTRY FROM
THEIR LEADERS.
// END ACT // // END OPT //
WHEN PRIME MINISTER ZHU RONGJI MEETS WITH PRESIDENT CLINTON AT
THE WHITE HOUSE, THEY ARE EXPECTED TO DISCUSS SOME IMPORTANT
PROBLEMS IN THE BILATERAL RELATIONSHIP. THESE INCLUDE TRADE
DIFFERENCES, WORRIES ABOUT CHINESE WEAPONS PROLIFERATION,
ALLEGATIONS OF CHINESE SPYING IN THE UNITED STATES, AND AMERICAN
CONCERNS OVER CHINA'S HUMAN RIGHTS RECORD.
CONGRESSMAN HAMILTON SAYS IN THE EARLY DAYS OF SINO-AMERICAN
RELATIONS, THOSE ISSUES WERE NOT EVEN -- IN HIS WORDS -- ON THE
RADAR SCREEN. TWO-WAY TRADE WAS NOT LARGE ENOUGH TO WORRY ABOUT,
AND HE SAYS HE NEVER THOUGHT ABOUT HUMAN RIGHTS AT THAT TIME IN
THE CONTEXT OF CHINA.
// OPT // TODAY, WHEN U-S AND CHINESE LEADERS MEET, THE U-S SIDE
OFTEN PRESENTS LISTS OF NAMES OF POLITICAL DISSIDENTS ASKING THEY
BE FREED FROM PRISON. IN THE EARLY DAYS OF SINO-U-S TIES, THE
TURMOIL OF CHINA'S CULTURAL REVOLUTION WAS UNDERWAY AND
INDIVIDUAL FREEDOMS WERE EVEN MORE CURTAILED THAN TODAY. U-S
CHINA EXPERTS POINT OUT THAT DENG XIAOPING HIMSELF WAS BEING
PUNISHED AT THAT TIME FOR HIS POLITICAL VIEWS, AND U-S LEADERS
NEVER RAISED HIS NAME IN MEETINGS WITH CHAIRMAN MAO ZEDONG OR
PREMIER ZHOU ENLAI. // END OPT //
AFTER THE CHINESE CRACKDOWN ON THE 1989 DEMOCRACY MOVEMENT, U-S /
CHINESE RELATIONS SUNK TO A LOW POINT. WASHINGTON IMPOSED
ECONOMIC SANCTIONS AGAINST BEIJING, AND CHINA WAS ANGERED AT U-S
CRITICISM OF ITS HANDLING OF THE PROTESTS, ACCUSING THE UNITED
STATES OF MEDDLING IN ITS INTERNAL AFFAIRS. OVER THE PAST
DECADE, RELATIONS GRADUALLY IMPROVED, BUT TENSIONS FLARED
PERIODICALLY OVER TAIWAN, TRADE AND HUMAN RIGHTS.
IN THE LAST TWO YEARS, PRESIDENT JIANG ZEMIN AND PRESIDENT
CLINTON MADE RECIPROCAL VISITS TO WASHINGTON AND BEIJING.
CONGRESSMAN HAMILTON SAYS THAT HELPED RESTORE MOMENTUM IN THE
RELATIONSHIP, BUT HE SAYS THERE HAVE BEEN SETBACKS IN RECENT
MONTHS AND THE MOMENTUM HAS BEEN LOST. MR. HAMILTON SAYS PRIME
MINISTER ZHU'S CURRENT U-S VISIT IS A GOOD OPPORTUNITY FOR THE
TWO COUNTRIES TO TRY TO PUT THE RELATIONSHIP BACK ON A MORE
CONSTRUCTIVE COURSE.
// REST OPTIONAL //
IN A SPEECH A DAY BEFORE HIS MEETING WITH PRIME MINISTER ZHU,
PRESIDENT CLINTON ALSO NOTES THE CHANGING NATURE OF AMERICAN
ATTITUDES TOWARD CHINA. SINCE THE START OF THIS CENTURY, SAYS
MR. CLINTON, AMERICANS HAVE SEEN CHINA AS A PLACE FOR CHRISTIAN
MISSIONARIES, AS A SOURCE OF WEALTH FOR AMERICAN TRADERS, AS AN
ALLY IN WORLD WAR TWO, AND AS AN ADVERSARY IN THE KOREAN WAR.
// CLINTON ACT //
MORE RECENTLY, MANY AMERICAN HAVE LOOKED TO CHINA TO SEE
EITHER THE WORLD'S NEXT GREAT CAPITALIST TIGER AND AN
ENORMOUS MOTHERLOAD OF ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY FOR AMERICAN
COMPANIES AND AMERICAN WORKERS, OR THE WORLD'S LAST
GREAT COMMUNIST DRAGON AND NEXT GREAT THREAT TO FREEDOM
AND SECURITY. FOR A LONG TIME, IT SEEMS TO ME, WE HAVE
ARGURED ABOUT CHINA WITH COMPETING CARICATURES. IS THIS
A COUNTRY TO BE ENGAGED OR ISOLATED? IS THIS A COUNTRY
BEYOND OUR POWER TO INFLUENCE, OR A COUNTRY THAT IS OURS
TO GAIN AND OURS TO LOSE?
// END ACT //
PRESIDENT CLINTON SAYS THE UNITED STATES CANNOT AFFORD USING
CARICATURES TO UNDERSTAND CHINA. AND HE SAYS THE TWO COUNTRIES
MUST WORK TOGETHER FOR A BETTER FUTURE. (SIGNED)
NEB/SMN/GE
07-Apr-99 12:09 PM EDT (1609 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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