Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

EAST ASIA AND PACIFIC

CHINA: "U.S. Uses Double Standard"

Xi Mi insisted in official, English-language China Daily (6/2): "U.S. Energy Secretary Bill Richardson said on Sunday he would soon fire department officials who failed to act on signs that China was stealing secrets from a U.S. nuclear lab. This forms a sharp contrast to the United States' slow response to China's demand for a fast and full explanation of NATO's bombing on the Chinese Embassy.... The different approach speaks volumes about the hypocritical nature of the United States.... The Cox report is...outrageous because it is full of maybes and perhapses. The United States should bear in mind that those who capriciously label another country a thief--on shaky guesses and hearsay--rightfully earn nothing but the title of liar. The failure of the United States to put into good use its leadership leaves an important question unanswered. What is being strong meant to accomplish? To bend international laws and bully the world?"

"Hotbed Of Anti-China Fury"

Qi Wen commented in official, English-language China Daily (6/2): "The anti-China resolutions on the tenth anniversary of the June 4 incident (adopted by the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate)...poured oil on the flames of anti-China sentiment in the United States. They also provided the Chinese people with a better understanding of the hegemonic mentality lying under the signboards of 'democracy,' 'freedom' and 'human rights. The United States has fully exposed the extreme hypocrisy of the human rights concepts it advocated by creating the biggest human rights and humanitarian disaster in Yugoslavia since the end of the Cold War."

"Hypocritical Nature Of U.S. Democracy"

Zheng Hangsheng said in official Communist Party People's Daily (Renmin Ribao, 6/1): "So-called democratic values and military capacity are the pen and sword of the United States to realize its ambition to dictate to the world. The U.S.-style democracy covers up the truth that the system is cruel."

"Minister: Cox Report 'Pure Farce'"

Official, English-language China Daily ran these remarks by Minister Zhao Qizheng, who is quoted as saying (6/1): "'The U.S.-concocted 'Cox report' is a farce which instigates anti-China sentiments and undermines Sino-U.S. relations,' said Minister of the Information Office of the State Council Zhao Qizheng. 'This is a great slander against the Chinese nation and people, and is an example of racial prejudice,' said Zhao.... '(The special committee) has spent so much effort but with little result,' Zhao joked. 'The best way out is to offer the report to Hollywood for shooting a movie, but it must be stated in the beginning that the whole story is a pure fiction.'"

"Double Standard, Long-Term Gimmick"

Gui Junsong said in official Communist Party People's Daily (Renmin Ribao, 5/31): "Using the human rights issue to interfere in another nation's internal affairs is a trick that has long been played by the United States.... The ongoing humanitarian disaster created by the U.S.-led NATO pushes the trick to the limit. The ongoing war in Yugoslavia demonstrates again that the human rights issue is an excuse used by the United States."

"U.S. Disqualified From Talking About Human Rights"

Qiu Bo said in intellectually oriented Guangming Daily (Guangming Ribao, 5/31): "Despite the bad human rights record in the United States, some Americans shamelessly designate their country as 'the guardian of human rights.' This is equal to a criminal being a judge in a court of law. The United States is not in any way qualified to talk about human rights."

"Nation Opposes U.S. Congressional Resolutions"

Official English-language China Daily featured this Xinhua News Agency item (5/31): "The U.S. House of Representatives and Senate passed anti-China resolutions based on the so-called tenth anniversary of the June 4 incident. The resolutions only serve to distort history, attack China's human rights conditions and incite a new anti-China wave by referring to an incident about which a final conclusion was made long ago. It was an attempt to undermine China's stability, and to obstruct the development of Sino-U.S. relations."

"Thieves Cry: 'Stop Thief!'"

Yan Xuetong contended in official, English-language China Daily (5/28): "One chapter of U.S. congressman Christopher Cox's report indicates that the CIA has, since 1995, enhanced its efforts to steal China's nuclear secrets. So far, the CIA has stolen at least five Chinese nuclear secrets, including: technology related to China's deployed nuclear warheads, two design programs concerning road-mobile intercontinental ballistic missiles, China's improvement plan and warhead technology for submarine-launched intercontinental ballistic missiles, and secrets of China's warhead technology for land-based mobile intercontinental missiles. We would like to see how the United States explains these."

"Cox Report: 1999 Version Of 'China Threat' Theory"

Under the above headline, Xue Fukang told readers of intellectually oriented Guangming Daily (Guangming Ribao, 5/28): "Cox's fabricated report certainly did not forget to send a warning to Americans that China is using the stolen nuclear technologies to enhance its nuclear capacity which will be targeted at the United States. People cannot help but wonder: Is the U.S. weapons lab like a cafeteria where people can [just] serve themselves?... Observers note that some Republican congressmen are attempting to use the 'China espionage case' as a political pawn to score in the 2000 elections and defeat the Democrats."

"New Developments In U.S. Hegemonism"

Guan Chajia asserted in official, Communist Party People's Daily (Renmin Ribao, 5/27): "The U.S.-led NATO's bombing of the Chinese Embassy is not an isolated nor accidental event, but a crucial step taken by the United States to pursue its global strategy, and an important symbol of new developments in American-style hegemonism. The real motive of the United States is to replace human rights with hegemonism, humanism with arbitrariness, democracy with dictatorship, and peace with gunboat policy. However, the United States has wrongly estimated the international situation. With few supporters for its injustice, the United States is doomed to failure."

"Fabricated Rumors Mislead Public"

Ma Shikun and Zhang Yong told readers of official Communist Party People's Daily (Renmin Ribao, (5/27): "In order to 'demonize' China, U.S. congressman Christopher Cox fabricated rumors that China has stolen U.S. nuclear technologies.

"The Cox report shows a strong and ingrained Cold War mentality which serves as a destructive force and an obstacle for Sino-U.S. relations.... To spoil their conspiracy is now a joint task for both Chinese and American people."

"'China Theft' Allegations Hide An Axe To Grind"

Official English-language China Daily ran this Xinhua News Agency piece (5/27): "In a recent report presented to Congress, U.S. intelligence authorities accused China of stealing U.S. technologies over the past 20 years related to seven types of nuclear warheads, satellites, missiles, high-speed computers, radar, and fighter jet engines. Is there any relationship between this report and the bombing of the Chinese Embassy, reportedly because of a wrong map provided by the CIA? Is it to distract public attention, take revenge on China or damage Sino-U.S. ties? If U.S. intelligence agencies know what technologies Chinese nuclear scientists have mastered during recent years, this shows that the United States is engaged in spying on Chinese nuclear technologies."

"Motives Behind Report"

Wang Hui told readers of official, English-language China Daily (5/27): "The release of the China 'theft' report helps remove China from public attention as a victim worthy of sympathy. On the other hand, a new wave of 'China threat' sentiment, triggered by the report, will help some people achieve their goal of ending Clinton's engagement policy and prompting an increase in military spending."

"Accusations Nonsense"

Ao Dong contended in official, English-language China Daily (5/27): "Some Americans' assertion that the Chinese government orchestrated the Chinese protestors against the U.S.-led NATO embassy bombing is evil and arrogant...and is total nonsense. Demonstrations are not the exclusive right of the U.S. democracy.... American media's ignorance of Chinese patriotism is a demonstration of indifference. American media tries to hide its hypocrisy in its biased reporting of the U.S. bombing. They played up the stone-throwing part of the Chinese protests while giving little coverage to the embassy bombing."

"Ghost Of McCarthy"

Ji Ping penned this for official Beijing Daily (Beijing Ribao, 5/27): "U.S. congressman Christopher Cox's report is another basin of dirty water poured over China by some Americans with ulterior motives. The report reminds us of the McCarthy Age in the '50s. The insane McCarthy and his political supporters drew public opposition in the end. Similarly, the Cox group will also go down in history in humiliation."

HONG KONG: "Global Power Shift May Plunge World Into Cold War"

Cary Huang wrote in the independent Hong Kong Standard (6/1): "The NATO strikes against Yugoslavia, and the resulting tension with Russia and China, have dramatically changed the prospects for global politics in post-Cold War era. The development would prompt, at its worst, the birth of a new military bloc aimed at keeping U.S.-led Western supremacy in check, and would be a major setback for arms controls and disarmament.... Ranking among the world's seven nuclear powers, China, Russia and India have been key components of global efforts to prevent the proliferation of missiles and nuclear materials. Despite their traditional antagonism on many issues in recent decades, the trio are now united in their opposition to the West's domination of global affairs, as evidenced by the Kosovo crisis.... If such a strategic axis becomes a reality, the world would inevitably revert to Cold War rivalry."

"Cox Report Tries To Arouse Anti-China Trend"

Pro-PRC Ta Kung Pao's editorial averred (6/1): "Not only didn't the U.S. Congress not investigate the bombing of the Chinese Embassy, it issued a 872-page 'Cox report' prepared a long time ago to vilify China by accusing it of 'stealing' U.S. nuclear secrets. U.S. anti-China forces try to divert the attention of people around the world by fabricating alarmist 'evidence' in the report. Their evil intention is obvious.... Whenever there is a struggle between the Republican Party and the Democratic Party, U.S. China policy and Sino-U.S. relations will become victims. This time was no different. The 'Cox report' has deeply hurt the Sino-U.S. relationship, which was already hampered by the bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Yugoslavia. Some U.S. politicians are excited because they think they have achieved their aim of hitting Sino-U.S. relations."

"Report Is All Lies"

Pro-PRC Hong Kong Commercial Daily News judged (6/1): "The Cox Report is a product of the struggle between the Republican Party and the Democratic Party. It is the 'stepping stone' to the presidency.... At the strategic level, Sino-U.S. relations are always the focus of a struggle between the two U.S. parties. This attempt to demonize China may give Clinton's China policy a blow. At the tactical level, the U.S. secretary of energy may become the vice-presidential candidate for the Democratic Party. The attempt to attack the U.S. national nuclear laboratory for leaking secrets will strike a direct blow at the Democratic Party's candidate."

"The Cox Report Should End Here"

Independent Sing Tao Daily News maintained (5/31): "Some U.S. congressmen have always had a bias against China. Thus, it is not unexpected that they will criticize China on various aspects. However, when President Clinton visited China last year, he and President Jiang Zemin chose to develop 'a constructive strategic partnership' as the trend for bilateral development. Hence, if the U.S. government does not choose to be hostile to China, it should not let some people make various excuses to hamper Sino-U.S. relations. Stupid tricks such as the Cox report should be wound up."

"Keeping The Trigger-Happy Americans At Bay"

Jackie Sam concluded in the independent Hong Kong Standard (5/29): "This is the start of a gradual build-up of a new image for China as a rogue state, distributor of lethal weapons to international terrorists--a state that is not to be contained but completely ostracized and, in time, surgically operated on with cruise missiles to remove the cancer of non-conformity with American values, standards, expectations and way of life. There are undoubtedly difficult and trying times for the mainland. In time, perhaps, the bombing of the embassy may be seen as a modern-day equivalent of Pearl Harbor. Should that happen, then the Cox report would be Congress' declaration of war."

"Espionage Lies By Cox Only Reveal His Own Faults"

Pro-PRC Wen Wei Po's editorial judged (5/27): "If the United States wants to use the report findings of Chinese theft of military secrets from the United States to divert the attention of the world, or if the United States wants to turn the report into a bargaining chip for future Sino-U.S. negotiations to urge China to give up the four requests regarding the bombing of the Chinese Embassy, the United States is unwise. This will only enable the Chinese people see more clearly the extortioner's face of the United States and U.S. politicians' efforts to create fictitious disturbances by accusing others before oneself is accused. The espionage lies in the Cox report are clumsy and ludicrous.... The United States' CIA and FBI have tens of thousands of staff members.

"However, they could not find the evidence of how the top military secrets were leaked. Is this even more ridiculous?"

"U.S. Anti-China Forces Play The Farce Again"

Pro-PRC Ta Kung Pao asserted (5/27): "U.S. anti-China forces are afraid that China will be strong. They are determined to contain China. They do not want to see the improvement and development of Sino-U.S. relations. Their attitudes toward China are antagonistic and prejudiced. They always fabricate things and have tried to make China 'guilty without cause' in order to incite anti-China feelings."

"A Cold War Declaration Toward Beijing"

Independent Ming Pao Daily News maintained (5/27): "The U.S. Congress put out an 800-page report regarding Chinese espionage. After reading the whole report, it is not difficult to have this impression: It is not a report of findings but a Cold War declaration toward Beijing. If the report by Cox, a Republican in the U.S. Congress, signifies the resurgence of a new McCarthyism in the United States, Sino-U.S. relations will suffer."

JAPAN: "China Has To Ratify International Human Rights Conventions"

Liberal Mainichi pointed out (6/2): "Friday marks the tenth anniversary of the Tiananmen Square incident. The international community was shocked by the cold-blooded Chinese military crackdown on Chinese students and citizens who gathered at the square in protest against political corruption.... Is the Tiananmen Square incident really weathered and forgotten? Political corruption remains a serious issue among senior Communist Party and government officials under the leadership of President Jiang Zemin. Now--ten years after Tiananmen...is the time to re-evaluate the incident.... The incident occurred partly because citizens' rights had not been institutionalized. China has learned from the incident and signed international human rights conventions. But the Chinese parliament has not yet ratified them."

"Cool-Headed Dialogue Needed"

Readers of liberal Mainichi Shimbun saw this editorial (5/28): "More than a few analysts have said China's current nuclear arsenal and technology do not pose a threat to the United States. Also, some nuclear technologies were said to have been inadvertently diverted [to China] by American firms.... China must also bear the blame (for the spy allegations in the Cox report). The U.S. government and its intelligence agencies have repeatedly warned China to stop exporting nuclear and missile technologies. The United States has been very sensitive about China's nuclear and missile programs. So China must be more cautious about future development of nuclear weapons technology. Beijing should start a cool-headed dialogue with the U.S. government and Congress over arms control and the reduction of nuclear weaponry and missiles."

"Chinese Spying Charges Deal Serious Blow To Bilateral Relations"

Business-oriented Nihon Keizai's Washington correspondent Sunohara observed (5/27): "The release of a U.S. congressional report concerning two decades of Chinese spying on American nuclear secrets reveals the shakiness of U.S.-Chinese relations. Although the Clinton administration justifies the correctness of its engagement policy to encourage China to join the international community, Congress has become more distrustful of China, rubbing particularly Chinese hard-liners the wrong way. As a result, senior leaders in the United States and China appear to have been caught in their respective 'emotional' traps of 'distrust' and 'estrangement.' In a sense, the U.S.-Chinese relationship may have entered a long, downward spiral....

"It is certain that the [Cox] report will...restrict the Clinton administration's engagement policy toward the Chinese government."

AUSTRALIA: "China Nearer Its WTO Goal"

An editorial in the business-oriented Australian Financial Review noted (6/1): "The climate has only deteriorated since...[Zhu's visit to the United States] with Cold War-style rhetoric dominating relations between the two countries and threatening to freeze discussions over the WTO.... The Cox report...underlined how China is relentlessly pursuing strategic and economic advantages on a global scale. But it would nonetheless be better if that action was conducted within the boundaries of the WTO/GATT system.... It is now very important that the Clinton administration does not get sidetracked by the sabre-rattling in Congress."

"U.S.-China: The New Chill"

The liberal Sydney Morning Herald pointed out (5/27): "Military security is a vital national interest. But the problems of protecting that interest are constant and not new. It is futile to blame the Chinese for a problem that would not be as potentially serious if the Americans themselves had been more careful. Most of all, it would be disastrous--especially at this time of undeniably chillier relations between China and the United States--to lose sight of the larger guarantee of security that comes from the present policy course of engagement with China through trade, diplomacy and dialogue."

INDONESIA: "U.S-China: Always Reasons To Quarrel And Reconcile"

Leading, independent Kompas put forth this view (5/28): "We understand that weapons of mass destruction are the mainstay in which each country has a vested interest in maintaining reliability and secrecy. In the aftermath of the Cold War, some strategic thinkers...view the use of nuclear weapons in warfare as irrational. However, history teaches us that war sometimes springs from irrational considerations. Some have made the argument that nations are more reluctant to become involved in wars due to increasingly interdependent economic interests. [However], the irrational wildcard renders any potential for conflict something that cannot be trivialized."

PHILIPPINES: "Everybody Spies!"

Publisher Max Soliven insisted in the third-leading Philippine Star (6/1): "So, what's new? Of course, the Chinese spied, despite their protestations. Every major nation spies on the others, striving to purloin strategic secrets and weapons blueprints.... If the Chinese 'stole' U.S. nuclear secrets, who cares? Everybody seems to have access to the most complicated technology, anyway.... All we have to do is subscribe to Popular Mechanics and other U.S. technical magazines and journals."

"China Is Not To Be Blamed"

Dan Mariano argued in wrote in liberal, independent Today (5/27): "The charges made by a U.S. congressional committee about the theft of sensitive information from U.S. weapons laboratories say more about the sloppiness of American security than Chinese covetousness of high technology.... The Chinese can't be blamed if some of them now question why they opened up to the West in the first place.... Rather than welcome China wholeheartedly into the international community, the world's biggest capitalist powers have grown anxious about China's stunning economic progress and, thus, have blocked its efforts to become a full-fledged member of the World Trade Organization.

"Fear of growing Chinese economic strength is probably behind efforts in the United States and other Western countries to portray China as an irresponsible member of the international community that indulges in espionage and subverts foreign governments with under-the-table campaign funds."

SINGAPORE: "Gosh! China Spies?"

The pro-government Straits Times (5/31) had this editorial: "Only a bigoted American will believe that his country does not have as 'insatiable' an appetite for covertly-gained information as the voracious China pictured in a congressional report released last week.... Does this mean China is completely innocent of the charges? If it is, President Jiang Zemin ought to sack someone. The United States spies; China spies. If China is better at it than the United States, President Bill Clinton ought to sack someone (perhaps himself), for it has no business being so incompetent. But the bottom line is this: The United States cannot afford not to engage with China. If it allows this episode to push it towards an anti-China policy, it will find itself isolated in Asia. Asia will not line up behind the United States, as Western Europe did during the Cold War. China is not another Soviet Union."

"Dangerous Hype"

The pro-government Business Times' editorial stressed (5/28): "The report resorts to using fuzzy intelligence reports, innuendoes, rumors and half-truths to reach the conclusion that the Chinese stole U.S. nuclear secrets and used them to develop their own nuclear military capabilities that in a few years would be on par with those of the United States.... Unfortunately, it looks as if Republican lawmakers and presidential candidates are trying to use the Cox report to win support for a U.S. strategy of 'containing' China. This is bound to make it difficult for the Clinton administration to repair the U.S. relationship with China, which was already damaged by the accidental bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade and the failure by the White House to reach a deal with China that would have allowed it to join the WTO. It is going to take a long time before relations between the United States and China are on an even keel again."

"Facing Up To Reality"

Leon Hadar, Washington correspondent for the pro-government Business Times, judged (5/27): "There is no doubt that the American government needs to do more to improve its counter-intelligence capabilities and to protect its national security secrets. But it also needs to recognize that in the real world, especially in an era of expanding globalization, there will always be trade-offs between the need to sustain the role of the United States as a magnet for immigrants and a vibrant commercial power, and the requirements to conceal sensitive economic and scientific information in order to safeguard national security interests. It is quite clear, however, that the route taken by Mr. Cox and his colleagues--of issuing a report that is heavy on 'shocking' newsbites, fuzzy information, half-truths and innuendoes--is not going to protect U.S. national security interests. Instead, it is bound to harm Sino-American relations and hurt patriotic and hardworking Asian-American immigrants. That is what's really shocking."

SOUTH KOREA: "U.S., China Heading Toward Confrontation"

Conservative Chosun Ilbo (5/31) editorialized: "Both in the United States and China, critics are raising their voices against each other, further weakening the ground under the moderates. At this point, we are not sure if all this signals the beginning of a new Cold War era between the two countries or just a temporary power game. Few people believe this confrontational phase will be resolved anytime soon, and this deteriorating relationship of the two will definitely have a negative impact not only on the world order but on Asia as it struggles with its economic crisis....

"Malaysia's Prime Minister Mahathir and Japan's treasury minister are mounting a new wave of criticism against the world order led by the West.... The talk of Asian values is resurfacing, but 'confrontation' in any way is not the way to go."

"'China Bashing' On The Rise In America"

Washington correspondent Shin Jae-min stressed in moderate Hankook Ilbo (5/27): "America is now boiling following the release of the Cox report. The result is that anti-China sentiments are quickly spreading, giving the impression that the controversy regarding China's espionage will certainly become a major issue in the 2000 presidential elections. With Defense Secretary Cohen's visit to China now cancelled, Sino-U.S. relations surely appear to be heading toward the lowest point in their relationship.... The cancellation further indicates that the two countries' dialogue on human rights and military issues are off now and will not be resumed for some time. Though talks on the economic front are continuing, it looks as if any dialogue about China's membership in the WTO will have to wait."

EUROPE

BRITAIN: "I Spy...."

The independent weekly Economist's editorial concluded (5/28): "The policy of engagement with China, even a constantly pilfering China, is as right now as it has been since 1972 when that policy began. Yet the Clinton administration's approach to China has been both more expansive than that, and more erratic--even by this administration's standards.... The most striking lesson of the Cox report is that Mr. Clinton needs to get his China policy straight. He is dealing not with a friend, but with a rival whose interests are different from those of the United States and the rest of the democratic West. To engage with this rival--to trade, talk, consult--is essential. To drop one's guard, even for a moment, could prove fatally wrong."

"Cohen Cancels China Trip As Freeze Deepens"

The conservative Times stated (5/27): "U.S. Defense Secretary William Cohen has canceled plans to visit China next month, signaling a new low in U.S.-China relations in the wake of [the Cox report.].... A relationship that appeared so rosy last year when President Clinton launched the 'strategic partnership' with Beijing has deteriorated with alarming speed after the bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade, stalled negotiations over China's desire to join the WTO, and now the damning Cox report on the theft of nuclear secrets.... The relationship has turned from cautiously warm to Arctic. Mr. Cohen concluded that a trip to Beijing was diplomatically inappropriate."

"Beijing Perceives Cold War Mentality On Part Of U.S."

The independent Financial Times had this (5/27) from Beijing: "China [may] have dismissed the Cox report as the 'groundless' imaginings of some Americans looking for a new enemy to replace the former Soviet Union, but such nonchalance is feigned. The report and what it signifies about a wider deterioration in U.S.-China relations is seen in Beijing as a subject of utmost seriousness. In reality, Beijing is consumed by a growing perception that Washington, far from seeking a 'strategic partnership' with China as it claims, is preparing a policy of Cold War containment towards it.... Regardless of whether these perceptions are justified, a sense of growing U.S. 'hegemonism' is real. With this backdrop, the Cox report will be material for those in Beijing who urge a tougher line in relations with Washington, and by military interests clamoring for bigger budgets."

FRANCE: "Cold War Policy"

Pierre Rousselin opined in right-of-center Le Figaro (5/27): "Between the world's most powerful nation and the world's most populous nation, disagreements are mounting. On both sides, they are feeding the domestic debate and could at any time cease to be controlled by the nations' leaders.... In the United States, the Republicans are going to war against Clinton's strategic engagement policy.... In China, domestic policy issues are the basis for much of the allegedly spontaneous recent anti-American demonstrations.... But this anti-Americanism has deep-rooted reasons. China feels that it no longer weighs much in the eyes of U.S. leaders since the Soviet Union stopped being a common enemy. Recent [U.S.] military ties with Taiwan and Japan have made this clear. Could Beijing then be tempted to return to a Cold War situation? After all, that served Moscow well: After brandishing the threat of a world war, the Kremlin has become a privileged Western interlocutor for the Balkan issue. Maybe China is also looking to be heard."

GERMANY: "A Bit Of A Cold War"

Matthias Nass opined in left-of-center weekly Die Zeit of Hamburg (6/2): "Nationalism and a pinch of xenophobia--the Chinese government has always been able to rely on this easily inflammable mixture. This has been particularly true when it was necessary to raise opposition against the American arch enemy. In the United States, too, people urgently require a new enemy image. Nobody is any longer afraid of a weak, faltering Russia. So it is up to China to play this role. Many accusations raised against Beijing are very serious...and a colorful coalition of Republicans, human rights activists, and protectionist trade unionists is today fighting for containment of China, as George Kennan did when he intended to contain Russia. But Bill Clinton is defending his policy of constructive engagement with China, arguing that America should not be afraid of a strong but of a weak China.... Ten years have passed since Western fears of a 'Chinese solution' in Eastern Europe. Why then should there not be a bit of a Cold War again? The hardliners in Washington and Beijing are itching to start it again."

"China's Wonderful Friend"

Torsten Krauel emphasized in right-of-center Die Welt of Berlin (5/27): "Basically, the so-called Cox report does not contain anything new for companies cooperating with China.... The partly hair-splitting details of the report reveal...the astonishing naivete of the Americans toward the Chinese. However, beyond the outrage of U.S. Congress, we often forget that Washington legitimized the transfer of civilian and military technology to China when the United States allowed the sale of Boeing 707 aircraft to China.... This blind confidence of the United States towards China, which is decades old...corresponds to Washington's credulity towards Saddam Hussein, who was an alleged ally against Iran before 1989. The Cox Report is now the definite end to this wonderful friendship, which China fully exploited to its benefit. Welcome to reality, America."

ITALY: "America Worries About Belgrade, But It Should Beware Of China"

Provocative, classical liberal Il Foglio said (5/27): "Apart from its possible repercussions as far as Washington-Beijing relations are concerned...the Cox report seems to affect mainly President Clinton and his pro-China policy, as well as his deputy, Al Gore.... Yet the situation is more complicated than that and it cannot be reduced to a Republican maneuver for electoral purposes.... In any case, it will more difficult for Clinton to obtain the renewal of the 'most favored nation' clause for China this year, while U.S. resistance to China's admission to the WTO will increase."

RUSSIA: "Serious Blow To U.S.-China Ties"

Marina Smirnova judged in centrist Nezavisimaya Gazeta (5/27): "U.S.-China relations have suffered a serious blow. It is as if the problems the two countries had to deal with before were not enough. All that plays into Russia's hands. Moscow should make the most of this situation."

DENMARK: "Don't Isolate China"

Apolitical Borsen had this to say (5/27): "The Chinese have routinely denied any espionage against the United States, but together with NATO's mistaken bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade, the case has chilled Chinese-U.S. relations to the lowest point in a very long time.... There is now a great risk that the U.S. Congress will refuse to accept Chinese membership in the WTO before the end of the year.... However, if China was better integrated into the global economy it would be much easier to make the country stop its threats against the democracy in Taiwan and respect the fact that it shouldn't share its nuclear technology with its neighbors. But it will take an active American effort to keep the dialogue open and to ensure Chinese membership of the WTO."

FINLAND: "Whining About China Harms U.S. Interests"

Independent regional Turun Sanomat's editorial judged (5/27): "U.S. criticism of Chinese espionage sounds mainly hypocritical. All great powers engage in espionage, including the United States. The Americans only have themselves to blame for not protecting their data more carefully. China's membership in the WTO would benefit the Americans more than the Chinese as it would open the huge Chinese markets for American products. By whining about China, the United States only causes problems for itself."

NORWAY: "Chinese Theft"

Leading tabloid VG commented (5/28): "The worst [aspect of the Cox report] is that this very frightening knowledge is in the hands of the world's largest and most powerful dictatorship.... After the espionage scandal broke, President Clinton has said that continuing inclusive policies toward China is more important than ever.... We agree with Clinton.... Rather than focusing on punitive measures, the United States should concentrate on influencing development in China--influencing the Chinese political system, and those who hold in their hands the deadly knowledge China has been stealing from the United States for 20 years."

SLOVENIA: "Chinese Walk Freely Through U.S. Weapons Labs"

Left-of-center Delo emphasized (5/27): "If the House Select Committee on Intelligence was...in less than three months able to find out that the Chinese had been very interested in American...nuclear technology, this could have been established by the governmental agencies authorized and paid for guarding American secrets. But because of their carelessness, the Chinese were more or less freely walking around American research laboratories and gathering information.... The Cox report will come in handy for the conservative Republican Congressmen who have...been demanding a radical change of Clinton's Chinese policy.... Although the Bush and the Reagan administrations were as responsible for the lack of control in nuclear laboratories--during the Bush presidency, the Chinese gathered the most information--as the Clinton administration, the Republicans, backed by the Cox report, will try to issue Clinton a bill for all the affairs he had successfully evaded, rather than just tell him that his liberal Chinese policy had failed. It would be no surprise if [the Republicans] began to systematically attack and undermine Clinton's entire foreign policy strategy, including the war in the Balkans."

SPAIN: "20 Years Of Espionage"

Liberal El Pais remarked (5/27): "Over the last two decades China has been able to make off with important American military secrets. However, the most worrying aspect of the Cox committee report is not the revelation that the Chinese spied or that they were successful in doing so, but that the president of the world's lone superpower, in office since 1993, was not made aware of Chinese espionage until 1997--an enormous failure in American counterintelligence.... The Clinton administration's muted reaction to the report reflects the priority it attaches to maintaining a constructive relationship with China. This is as it should be."

THE NETHERLANDS: "Spoiled Relations Now Poisoned"

According to centrist Algemeen Dagblad (5/26): "While U.S.-China relations seemed to have improved only very recently, the espionage affair has caused such damage that it will be difficult to get it right again.. The Chinese espionage affair comes right after the disastrous bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade and the furious demonstrations against this bombing which the Chinese government had organized. The relations were spoiled but are now poisoned--all this at a time when the United States could really use some Chinese flexibility when the UNSC will soon discuss the Kosovo war."

"Irreparable Damage"

Influential, independent NRC Handelsblad held (5/26): "The question is how much room the president will still have to continue his policy of opening up to China after this critical congressional report. China's official denials will not do Clinton much good. Espionage is an evil thing in international relations that cannot simply be removed, and one that many countries are guilty of in one way or the other. Even if the strategic damage to China's underground activities will seem to be not too bad, the political damage caused to the American-Chinese relations, and, therefore, to the relations in the world, cannot be repaired."

TURKEY: "A Nuclear Nightmare"

Semih Idiz observed in tabloid Star (5/28): "Both the Cox report, that claims China is stealing U.S. nuclear secrets, and the ongoing conflict...along the India-Pakistan border are enough to cause concern about the future of the world. The Cox report clearly shows that China either now has the same nuclear weapons as the United States, or is capable of producing them.... As for the tension between India and Pakistan, both are proud of their nuclear programs. Is there a possibility that either one of them will use its nuclear weapons against the other? Because of the existence of irresponsible leadership, ultra-nationalism, religious fundamentalism, as well as being underdeveloped, why not?"

SOUTH ASIA

INDIA: "Talk Of The Town"

Washington correspondent Sridhar Krishnaswami pointed out in the centrist Hindu (5/26): "The ramifications of the Cox Committee report on Chinese espionage was the talk of the town on Tuesday.... The pressure on the White House now is perceived as being totally different from (that) faced by the president at the time of his impeachment trial.... This time around it is more of a bipartisan effort to pull up an administration seen as not having acted swiftly to the espionage trail of the government of China.... The disturbing part of the finding is not about China being involved in a systematic espionage process for the last thirty years but the fact that the strategic planners in this country have to counter the next generation of Chinese weapons--conventional and nuclear--which will have exploited the high technology of American designs.

"In particular, the focus has been on thermonuclear warheads and guidance systems.... The conservative establishment is determined to have its say on the issue even if there is the reluctant admission that no one has a definite clue of the extent of damage on the national security front."

PAKISTAN: "Malicious Report Of U.S. Congress Against China"

An editorial in the popular, Islamabad-based, Urdu-language Ausaf (5/27): "The U.S. Congress has said in its report...that China has provided America's many nuclear secrets, including the neutron bomb, to Pakistan and that China is preparing the latest nuclear arms with the help of these stolen designs.... We are right to condemn this report, presented against China in the U.S. Congress, and recognize it as the calumny of U.S. conspiracy also against Pakistan, because it is a fact that Pak-China friendship is the biggest obstacle in the way of United States' intentions. And this is the reason that the killer of millions of Kashmiris, India, does not like this friendship, while America wants to make India a watchman of the region to fulfil its particular interests. In this situation, Pakistan should also expand its bilateral relations with China in the economic sector as it did in the defense sector, because this is the only way for Pakistan to escape from U.S. influence."

WESTERN HEMISPHERE

CANADA: "Stolen Secrets"

Frederic Wagniere observed in centrist, French-language La Presse (5/27): "There are numbers of commercial, financial, academic, cultural and personal ties between the United States and China that tend to bring closer the two countries, in spite of all the quarrels between governments.... The theft of nuclear secrets by China shouldn't necessarily lead to a deterioration of the relations between China and the United States. It would be much more serious if the aversion of the Chinese communist system for democracy would drive it to repress even more human rights and what is left of democracy in Hong Kong, and to systematically support authoritarian systems as in Yugoslavia and Burma."

"Bigger Than Monica"

Under the above headline, the conservative Halifax Chronicle-Herald concluded (5/27): "On Tuesday, Capitol Hill took delivery of a batch of pure white lightning from the long-awaited congressional inquiry into Chinese theft of American nuclear secrets.... Now that the genie is out of the sieve, what's to be done? Congress shouldn't waste any breath on its standard response--moralizing. There's no point railing at Chinese perfidy--all great powers spy on each other. The problem lies with the failure of the American security establishment and policymakers to keep the curtains closed. Becoming dependent on Chinese rockets for satellite launches wasn't very bright, either.... The United States has an interest in good relations with China, but that shouldn't entail blindness to China's ambitions, in particular its bellicose claim to sovereignty over Taiwan. As long as this hawkishness persists, limits do have to be set on technology trade and security fences do have to be kept in repair."

CHILE: "China's Reaction"

Conservative, influential El Mercurio pointed out in an editorial (5/27): "Beijing authorities have banned U.S. war vessels from accessing the bay of Hong Kong.... This rejection is by no means a hostile action, but rather, the free exercise of sovereignty.... Beijing has more real and serious concerns than the war vessels in ports... It is watching with concern the terms of a new military alliance between Japan and [the United States.]... The latter clearly shows the possibilities for a conflict in the region. The prospect of a new treaty between the United States and Japan is one of the tools being forged to face such an eventuality."

PERU: "U.S. China Ties Reach Low Ebb"

Opposition La Republica featured this commentary (5/26) by Mauricio Mulder: "U.S.-China relations are at their worst level because of the U.S. bombing of the Chinese Embassy and the recent U.S. report stating that Beijing has been stealing U.S. military and nuclear information for over 20 years.... Washington knows that China cannot risk a fight, but is aware that China is still an ideological enemy whose actions are guided by a policy to become a new millennium power. Within ten years China and the United States might be at great odds."

For more information, please contact:

U.S. Information Agency

Office of Public Liaison

Telephone: (202) 619-4355

6/2/99

# # #