Posted on 09/30/2001 3:05:44 PM PDT by aculeus
BEIJING, Sept. 29 — Despite a history of condemning American incursions abroad and a chronic fear of encirclement by the West, the Chinese government has expressed strong support for the new American war on terrorism. It even seems to accept the idea of limited American military strikes in China's own neighborhood.
Like Russia, which has also performed a stunning about-face, China has practical reasons for supporting a campaign against violent Islamic fundamentalists. Though it has been spared any bloody conflict comparable to that in Chechnya, China fears the emergence of unrest and terrorism at home, most immediately in the largely Muslim frontier province of Xinjiang, where a stewing separatist movement has occasionally set off bombs or attacked the police.
But the Chinese leaders also see an opportunity in the current crisis to meet a broader goal: to forge an improvement in overall relations with the United States and other Western countries, according to policy experts and diplomats on both sides of the Pacific.
"The Chinese government understands that if the United States can be attacked like this, so can China," said Lu Gang, professor of Russian studies at East China Normal University in Shanghai. "Beijing is hosting the 2008 Olympics, and if the menace of international terrorism isn't extinguished by then, China could face a direct and serious threat."
"I'm hopeful that this event will help the United States and China find more common ground and lead to an improvement in relations," Mr. Lu added. "Not just an improvement, but a major improvement."
Western diplomats here say it is too soon to tell if Chinese-American relations will be transformed, but they do not describe the hope as far- fetched.
China's leaders are watching, warily, to see how the geopolitics of Central Asia will be redrawn as the confrontation with the Taliban plays out. They are deeply worried about the fate of their nuclear-armed ally Pakistan, which could be torn apart. They hope that their fledgling alliance with Russia and nearby Muslim states of the former Soviet Union, largely meant to counter groups like the Taliban, can be strengthened.
At the same time, Beijing does not relish seeing a new Western military beachhead so near its homeland, and like Moscow it fears that Washington might go overboard in its retribution.
Still, the Chinese can quietly rejoice in the shift in Washington's priorities toward a shared concern. Many Chinese and Western scholars say that if China can join meaningfully in the antiterror campaign, mutual trust may build and the obsession of Republican hawks with a "China threat" may fade.
"For China, this is a chance for a fresh start with the Bush administration," said Chas. W. Freeman, a defense consultant and former diplomat in Washington who was in Beijing right after the Sept. 11 events speaking with officials and scholars.
The smoothing of economic and political ties with the West is a prime goal of the leaders here, who see domestic development and stability as their overriding challenge and who are already bracing for new pressures as the country enters the World Trade Organization.
Beijing officials know that vital differences over Taiwan and human rights will not disappear. But to the extent that China's internal opponents resort to terrorist tactics, officials have indicated, they do expect more sympathy from abroad. "There should be no double standards," a spokesman said last week.
For now, the Chinese are still hedging their bets about the American-led campaign. Since the day of the hijackings and attacks, the television and press here have had instructions to keep their reporting on a modest keel — factual, but not nearly as extensive or emotional as coverage in most media worldwide. Diplomats here think this reflects the ruling party's reluctance to stir up public passions too much before it is sure about China's official stance.
But so far both sides have "sent the right signals," as a European diplomat here put it, with China publicly acknowledging the enormity of the crimes and the need for a robust American response, and the United States, for its part, taking unusual care to gain multilateral support.
China has said it will not become directly involved in the current military campaign, although in a sign of the cooperative mood a team of Chinese security specialists just visited Washington for rare exchanges that American officials called useful.
It has left intentionally vague just how much American military action it could countenance, apparently waiting to see what happens first.
Still, the contrast with China's vitriolic reaction to the Kosovo war is stark. This time, it has simply said that any immediate punitive measures should be justified by evidence, be precise and "consistent with the United Nations Charter and international law," a vague call that American actions will arguably meet in any case.
But if the United States is to keep China and many other countries on board, it will need to seek a strong United Nations role in the prolonged war against terrorism, diplomats here say.
Even before this month's attacks, China and Russia had forged an unusual form of regional collaboration against unrest, joining with four neighboring Muslim states — Kazakhstan, Kyrgystan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan — in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. Formally started last June, the group is to share intelligence and is establishing a regional antiterrorism center, intended to monitor threats like the Taliban-supported rebels in Uzbekistan.
China and Russia have also signed a broader friendship agreement; it is a largely symbolic measure intended to offset what both countries have seen as dangerous American dominance in the world.
The new ties that each country has formed with Washington in recent weeks, and the American bows toward multinational cooperation, could have the surprising effect of reducing the drive for China and Russia to build a stronger alliance.
"If the United States doesn't act too unilaterally in this antiterror campaign — if China and Russia can feel that they are included — then they won't have so much incentive to join together in opposition to American hegemony," Mr. Freeman said.
Are you suggesting they are communists by choice???
I don't think the Chicoms can be trusted, but they, like the Russians have reason to fear muslim fanatics in their midst. As well, they, like the Russians will use this opportunity to unleash hellfire on dissent of any kind within their 'empire' without fear of scrutiny or condemnation from the rest of the world.
"Forget all that stuff we said about war between us being invetible - let's be friends" ..... with a forced Cheshire cat grin.....
"All that cheating on the arms control agreements? Come on, let's let bygones be bygones. Noz drov ya!!!"
You are all welcome to believe what you want about all the things that are being said, seemingly suddenly, by some who claim to now be friends. Somehow, being the suspcious bast%$^ that I am, I will continue to think of Russia, China and all of their previous friends in the Trans-Asian Axis to be exactly what they were prior to (and, I believe, following) 9/11/2001 - an Anti-American axis whose ultimate goal is to bring on the demise of the USA and Western Civilization. Now, in that context, please give a second thought to what happened on 9/11/2001, who REALLY benefitted from it, and how is has been used to manipulate the USA. And to what ends?
Right-o. You know it.
And here's how the Chinese government handles them:
I am not suggesting anything. I am saying it is so.
As far as China goes, it is different than the USSR in its version of "communism".
A lot of China is much more Maoist, than they are sheerly USSR style communist. A lot of those muslims in China are not fighting the government of China, but it comes up for discussion every now and then.
I don't think the Chicoms can be trusted,
I agree.
but they, like the Russians have reason to fear muslim fanatics in their midst
In China's case those religious 'fanatics' as they are painted with one wide brush are nothing like the Osama Bin Ladens of the world.
The Han people came in and conquered and acted like a bunch of colonists...
The locals did not like that because they are treated like second class citizens.
will use this opportunity to unleash hellfire on dissent of any kind within their 'empire' without fear of scrutiny or condemnation
In China's case absolutely.
China went so far as to label the Tibetans and Taiwanese as terrorists a few days back...
Read the replies on This post. Particularly pay attention to the discussion between myself and screen name "Lake"
Can you provide a link?
China has about 100 million people that are minorities inside of it. A single digit percentage of that 100 million supports the CCP. Another % just don't care because one feudal dictator is the same as another, and another % get real violent about being ruled by the CCP.
I would tend to doubt the notion that that many minorities make it in the party though.
The CCP had no influence in Tibet in 1949, though there were a few Tibetans in the CCP.
For the past 50 years there has been a policy of "Han-ization" of those people.
Now many people are not true blooded Uygurs. They are a mix with Han.
Often they retain their religion though.
XinJiang used to be like 90% Uygur. Now it is only like 40% or less.
Plus Muslims are not contained only in that one region of China. They are all over the place. Beijing even has large Muslim communities.
You pointed out the point I was trying to make, that there are some of these minorities who support the CCP.
Tibet is a different story. There were a few, maybe dozens of, Tibetans from Sichuan province who joined the Red Army during the Long March. But when the PLA entered Tibet in 1951 after a peaceful liberation treaty singed, nobody in Tibet knew anything about the CCP. According to the treaty the CCP officals could only deal with the Tibetan government and were not allowed to speak to local poeple.
Right, but it was in Sichuan, not in Tibet. The CCP had never entered Tibet until 1951.
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