20 July 1999
Academics Call for Policies Fostering Greater Engagement With China
(Foreign investment, legal initiatives crucial for democracy) (590) By Nadine Nigel Leavitt USIA Staff Writer New York University professor of sociology Doug Guthrie and Johns Hopkins University China expert David M. Lampton spoke at a Capitol Hill luncheon July 19 regarding the need to bolster U.S. government policies strengthening engagement with China and the establishment of the rule-of-law there. Guthrie's recently released book, "Dragon in a Three-Piece Suit: The Emergence of Capitalism in China," is a field study on organizational changes during the process of economic reform in China. After visiting 81 factories and conducting 200 unchaperoned interviews over the past ten years, Guthrie observed factories in China adopting Western-style bureaucratic systems and concluded, "Chinese officials, managers, and citizens learn about democracy and the rule of law through negotiations and practices that they encounter in a rational marketplace. Western investors are a fundamental part of the emergence of a rational marketplace in China." "On-the-ground engagement is a crucial part of the equation," he added. Guthrie admitted that the United States had seen very little progress in the treatment of political prisoners and dissidents in China, and that the U.S. government needed to continue to pressure the Chinese government on the issue. But, he said, there had been great progress in prison reform, and he characterized the changes since 1979 with regard to reforming the authoritarian system and transforming society and the workplace as "unbelievable" and "dramatic." Guthrie cited the promulgation of new Chinese laws such as the Prison Reform Law, the new Labor Law, the National Compensation Law of 1995 (allowing Chinese citizens to sue the government), and the establishment of formal grievance procedures in factories as "part of the general process of the change for the rule of law." David Lampton agreed that China had changed a great deal and, while American concerns about Chinese arms control and proliferation were legitimate, he could cite several "encouraging signs" that the Chinese were adopting international norms, values, and institutions in these non-business areas as well. Lampton pointed out that "not very long ago ... China was avowedly outside all of the institutions" of arms control, nonproliferation and test-ban regimes. In recent years, he said, China has: called for the observance of the 1972 ABM Treaty; was a proponent of or a signatory to the Partial Test-Ban Treaty of 1986 and the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty of 1996; established a technology export controls mechanism; signed the 1992 Non-proliferation Treaty; joined multinational security organizations such as the ASEAN Regional Forum; become an active defender of the U.N. Security Council. Both Guthrie and Lampton stressed the need for the U.S. government to encourage the respect for the rule of law in China. Guthrie said legal initiatives must become a central part of any U.S. policy toward China because, he said, "The rule of law is, in some ways, the future of China." Lampton said President Clinton had twice called for U.S. government-sponsored rule-of-law initiatives for China -- in 1994 and 1998 -- but Congress has never come through with funding for the endeavor. Lampton said the issue was important enough for the U.S. business community to establish its own foundation to promote legalism in China. The luncheon seminar, entitled "China and U.S. Options: New Cold War or Strategic Engagement," was hosted by Senator Charles Schumer's office and sponsored by the Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL), a Quaker interest group.
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