Tracking Number: 244456
Title: "F-16 Sale to Taiwan Dominates US-China Talks."
Secretary of State Eagleburger met for 40 minutes September 24 with Chinese Foreign Minister Qian Qichen, with discussions focusing on the sale of up to 150 F-16 fighter aircraft to Taiwan. (920925)
Author: DYBVIK, RUSSELL E (USIA STAFF WRITER)
Date: 19920925
Text:
F-16 SALE TO TAIWAN DOMINATES U.S.-CHINA TALKS
(Eagleburger, Qian Qichen meet in New York) (990)
By Russell Dybvik
USIA Diplomatic Correspondent
New York -- Acting Secretary of State Eagleburger and Qian Qichen, the Chinese foreign minister, met for 40 minutes September 24 in New York, and a senior State Department official later said it was "pretty much a one-topic meeting."
That topic was President Bush's recent decision to sell up to 150 F-16 fighter aircraft to Taiwan.
The Chinese official opened the discussion and he "made the points" in opposition to the sale that have already been made publicly and privately to the United States, including during a recent visit to Beijing by William Clark, assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, the senior official told U.S. reporters at a briefing.
"They are not terribly pleased with the F-16 sale and they will be looking at overall U.S. actions to ascertain how this plays on the total relationship," the U.S. official said.
He characterized their get-together as "a serious meeting," but noted it had "no histrionics."
Other than the F-16 sale, the two had a brief discussion about market access talks, with both desirous that an agreement can be negotiated before an October 10 deadline that would require the United States to raise tariffs on a broad range of imports from China.
"Both sides had their lists" of products that will be hit with higher tariffs, the U.S. official said. "Ours has been announced. The Chinese is in preparation, but we don't want it to come to that."
Eagleburger made it "very clear that the United States continues to place a very high value on the relationship with the People's Republic of China, that the intention of the government is to move forward in both the multinational arena and in other aspects of the relationship in a positive manner and to attempt to work out the bilateral difference that we have over this one aspect as best we can," the senior official said.
"As the Chinese foreign minister said, it was a short meeting in real terms," the U.S. official said, pointing out that with translation, each side had only 10 minutes to make its presentation.
"We had time to do basic points and that's what we did. We made sure the record was clear, and both sides made sure the other one understood there is room to work on this relationship," he said. "And we will both be, in the months ahead, watching the other one and doing those things that we think will be positive."
He said there was no discussion of a further meeting between them. But he said their meeting was "an opportunity" to raise the discussion by two levels from Clark's recent visit to Beijing "and to bring it a little better into focus.
"We didn't solve the problem," the senior official said. "But the parameters are set a little clearer after this, and I think that's good."
"The F-16 is a problem, but we still have the ability to talk about market access and other things, separate and distinct problems as well," he said, adding "everything is not frozen in aspic while we look at the F-16."
He acknowledged the Sino-American relationship was "strained" over the F-16 issue, but pointed out that "in terms of trade certainly the strain would be on our side. The Chinese trade surplus with us is doing rather well. In terms of market access, the strain is on our side. We want more access.
"So it's a very normal relationship. It has now one peak in it of a disagreement over the F-16s. But other than that I'd describe it as surprising good in other aspects....I don't think either side is prepared to let this very important relationship go down just because of one issue. We will continue to move it forward as we can," the senior U.S. official said.
He said China's threat to leave the so-called ACME talks among the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council on limiting arms flows to the Middle East because of the F-16 sale was not repeated. "But I think they've made it fairly clear," he added. Nor did the Chinese again reject the idea of joining the United States in a proposed joint committee to look at human rights in China, "but that's been made clear, too," he said.
And Eagleburger did not reiterate U.S. concerns about China's sale of arms to countries in the Middle East. "As I said, it was a one-issue meeting," the senior official said.
Eagleburger later met with Foreign Minister Ali Abdulla Alatas of Indonesia, and the senior U.S. official said Cambodia was "the major focus" of their discussion.
"It's a little hard to say" exactly how the problems posed by the Khmer Rouge's "unwillingness to come forward and participate in the (Paris) agreement they signed" will be dealt with, but the U.S. official said "the Perm-5 certainly will be at it." He said he expects the so-called "Perm-5 expanded group" that has worked on the problem in the past will come into play again.
There is also consideration being given to having the four Cambodian parties and Prince Sihanouk in New York for discussions, he said, adding "it's in flux right now."
Any Perm-5 meeting will probably be held at the "working level," that of assistant secretaries of state or their counterparts, the U.S. official said. Such a meeting would not necessarily try to force the Khmer Rouge to live up to its obligations. "If you can bring the KR in and talk, that may be useful," the senior U.S. official said.
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File Identification: 09/25/92, POL501; 09/25/92, EPF502; 09/25/92, EUR512; 09/25/92, LEF516; 09/25/92, NEA510
Product Name: Wireless File
Product Code: WF
Keywords: MILITARY AIRCRAFT; ARMS TRANSFERS/Policy; EAGLEBURGER, LAWRENCE/East Asia & Pacific; CHINA-US RELATIONS/Policy; TAIWAN-US RELATIONS/Policy
Thematic Codes: 1EA
Target Areas: EA;
EU; AR; NE
PDQ Text Link: 244456
USIA Notes: *92092501.POL
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