Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

DATE=October 23, 2002

TYPE=Dateline

NUMBER=7-36854

TITLE=US-China Summit

BYLINE=Stephanie Mann

TELEPHONE=619-1286

DATELINE=Washington

EDITOR=Neal Lavon

CONTENT=

DISK: DATELINE THEME [PLAYED IN STUDIO, FADED UNDER DATELINE HOST VOICE OR PROGRAMMING MATERIAL]

HOST: When President Bush welcomes President Jiang Zemin [jah-ng zuh-MEEN] to his Texas ranch Friday, he will likely ask the Chinese leader for his help in stopping Iraq and North Korea from building up nuclear arsenals. Mr. Jiang's current visit to the United States is expected to be his last as China's head of state. With more in this special Dateline report, here's V-O-A's Stephanie Mann.

TEXT: What was going to be a low-key luncheon at President Bush's ranch in Crawford, Texas, has now taken on more significance -- with the problems of Iraq and North Korea looming large and leading the agenda.

China analysts in the United States agree the recent revelation that North Korea has a secret nuclear weapons program adds a new layer of complication to the meeting between President Bush and President Jiang. North Korea and China have had a long close relationship as two communist countries in Northeast Asia, and the United States hopes Beijing can use its influence in Pyongyang.

Larry Wortzel is the director of Asian Studies at the Heritage Foundation in Washington.

TAPE: CUT ONE, WORTZEL,:22

"With respect to North Korea, China's in a position to really have some effect. China supplies a lot of North Korea's fuel needs. And that's what this is about. So they could apply a great deal of pressure simply by shutting down or reducing the spigot on North Korea's fuel."

TEXT: In addition to China helping North Korea with its energy needs, the United States has also been supplying North Korea with 500-thousand metric tons of oil a year under a 1994 agreement. As part of that accord, North Korea had pledged to end its nuclear weapons program, but the recent revelation shows Pyongyang has not kept that promise.

Regarding Washington's desire for international support against Iraq, some analysts say China in recent months has been more accommodating. Because China is a permanent member of the U-N Security Council, Washington hopes China will not exercise its veto on the Iraq resolution.

Larry Wortzel says there are a few things the United States would like to see China do regarding Iraq.

TAPE: CUT TWO, WORTZEL,:19

"China can either support a U-N resolution, or at least abstain. And I think we would be very happy if they did that. They can get their people out of Iraq -- the ones that are helping to lay down fiber optics for Iraq's military -- so we don't by accident hit any Chinese people when we go in there."

TEXT: In 1999, when NATO forces staged bombing raids in Iraq, a U-S plane accidentally hit the Chinese embassy in Baghdad, killing three Chinese. That incident provoked angry anti-American demonstrations in China and caused serious tensions in bilateral relations.

A specialist on Chinese politics and history at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington, Cheng Li [CHUNG LEE], says he expects President Jiang will reassure President Bush on the Iraq question.

TAPE: CUT THREE, CHENG LI,:19

"He will continue to express his goodwill and support to the U-S-led coalition against terrorism. And probably he will be also very accommodating in terms of Iraq. I don't think China will use a veto and probably will support ....a U-S and British led campaign against Iraq."

TEXT: Chinese officials say they are considering Iraq-related U-N resolutions on the merits of the issue and not in relation to other issues. But some activists believe China may be more accommodating on Iraq, because the United States agreed to list a radical Muslim Uighur [WEE-gur] group as a terrorist organization.

The United States has said there is sufficient evidence to label the East Turkistan Islamic Movement, or E-T-I-M, a terrorist group.

Uighurs are the largest of several ethnic Muslim groups in China's western Xinjiang [shin-DZHYANG] region. There has been some unrest, including bombings, attributed to Uighurs who demand Xinjiang's independence from China. Beijing considers Uighur separatists to be terrorists.

The Uighur American Association accuses Beijing of using the war on terrorism as an excuse to increase human rights abuses in Xinjiang. At a recent Washington rally, a member of the Uighur American Association, Nury Turkel, said President Bush should ask President Jiang about that.

TAPE: CUT FOUR, TURKEL,:18

"We've been victimized for various political problems in the past, but according to reliable sources, over two-thousand Uighurs have been arrested since September 11th. Our major concern is ... not to let the Chinese government use the war against terrorism as an excuse to kill innocent Uighur people."

TEXT: The association's president, Alim Saytoff, addressed the rally, saying China has a constitution but does not adhere to it. Mr. Saytoff says China persecutes Uighur Muslims, Tibetan Buddhists, political dissidents and social activists. Therefore, he says, Jiang Zemin should not be welcomed in the United States.

TAPE: CUT FIVE, SAYTOFF, :33

"Jiang Zemin to the Uighurs, Tibetans, the Chinese people, is like Saddam Hussein to the Iraqi people. Both are dictators and murderers who don't hesitate to use military force against their own people to continue their evil rule. If there has to be a regime change in Baghdad, there also should be a regime change in Beijing (applause) because the dictators in Beijing are not any better or any different from the dictators in Baghdad, in Iraq."

TEXT: The U-S executive director of the International Campaign for Tibet, Mary Beth Markey, says her group hopes President Bush also presses Mr. Jiang on the issue of Chinese repression in Tibet.

TAPE: CUT SIX, MARKEY,:42

"We're very optimistic that the President will raise Tibet with President Jiang. He has done so in the past when they met in Beijing and in Shanghai, even when he had a curtailed agenda because of meetings cut short because of September 11th. ... So we're optimistic that this is an issue he cares about, that he understands, that he sees the importance of. And because of the recent visit to Beijing and Lhasa [LAH-sah] of envoys of the Dalai Lama, we think that this certainly has the kind of momentum that will inspire the president to make a strong representation on this issue to President Jiang."

TEXT: Carol Lee Hamrin, a China specialist at George Mason University, says President Bush is not going to gloss over American concerns about Chinese human rights violations just to get China's support on Iraq. And she says President Jiang knows that.

TAPE: CUT SEVEN, HAMRIN. :17

"Obviously Iraq is a high priority, but that doesn't mean we don't talk about these other issues. And in particular, the Bush administration is under pressure to prove that they're not dropping all other considerations for this."

TEXT: At the recent Washington rally, many groups appealed to President Bush to raise specific issues when he meets President Jiang. Labor rights groups urged Mr. Bush to ask that China reform its labor laws so that Chinese workers can form independent unions and enjoy safe workplaces. Supporters of the Falungong [FAHL-UN-GONG] spiritual and exercise movement called on President Bush to raise their concerns about China's crackdown on Falungong practitioners.

In addition to human rights, other issues of concern to Washington include trade and weapons proliferation. Larry Wortzel says Jiang Zemin will be sure to press Mr. Bush on U-S policy in the Middle East and U-S support for Taiwan.

TAPE: CUT EIGHT, WORTZEL,:36

"I expect that Jiang Zemin will say, 'Your policies overseas and the fact that you are present overseas is of concern to us, that if you revisit some of your policies on the Middle East, perhaps you won't be as big a target. But in the end, we understand and we support you on the war on terror, and we're in this fight together.' Jiang Zemin will complain about U-S arms sales to Taiwan as promoting separatism, but it will not be a major issue. They're going to talk past that. And then, I think they'll get down to real brass tacks on Iraq."

TEXT: Carol Lee Hamrin says Mr. Jiang probably hopes the summit with President Bush will help boost his domestic stature as China enters a period of transition.

TAPE: CUT NINE, HAMRIN, :15

"For some people in China, just the visit and especially the visit to the ranch at Crawford, is the summit. I mean, that's the importance of it. It is a symbol of China's being considered an important actor in the world."

TEXT: Larry Wortzel says although Mr. Bush and Mr. Jiang will not see eye to eye on many issues, the two leaders are likely to express a common desire to prevent war on the Korean peninsula. And he says the North Korea issue will be even more important after the Crawford summit, when Mr. Bush and Mr. Jiang go to Mexico for the APEC meeting of Asia and Pacific leaders.

They will join presidents and prime ministers from South Korea, Japan and Russia. And Mr. Wortzel says that's where some real decisions about North Korea are likely to be made.

For Dateline, I'm Stephanie Mann.

MUSIC: TEMPLE OF THE CLOUDS, KPM-335CD, SONGS OF THE IMMORTALS: THE MUSIC OF IMPERIAL CHINA, PERFORMED BY THE CHINESE VIRTUOSI, CUT 2, 3:49