Agence France-Presse
Thursday, May 10, 2001
HONG KONG, May 10 (AFP) - There was no need for Beijing and Washington to be enemies, former US president Bill Clinton told a global forum here Thursday a day after talks with Chinese President Jiang Zemin.
Clinton said the world would be a better place if they were partners.
"Of course there are difficulties and bumps on the road," he said, citing recent strained ties following the collision between a Chinese fighter jet and a US spy plane, and US arms sales to Taiwan.
"The important thing it seems to me is not to assume that the relationship is necessarily adversarial. The world would be a better place in the next 50 years if we were partners."
Clinton met Jiang for about an hour Wednesday but did not refer to the talks in his closing address at the Fortune Global Forum, which covered topics ranging from global warming to AIDS.
His spokesman was quoted by the South China Morning Post as saying the pair enjoyed "a wide-ranging discussion on US-China relations".
China's official Xinhua news agency described the meeting as friendly and quoted Jiang as saying the two countries should promote a "healthy and stable" relationship.
Under Clinton's administration, Washington pushed ahead with a policy of constructive engagement with Beijing and described China as a "strategic partner."
But the new team of George W. Bush has taken a tougher line, describing China as a "strategic competitor."
Clinton also acknowledged the "different perceptions of political and religious freedoms" with China.
The forum of corporate heavyweights here has been marred by anti-China protests amid claims of police brutality and a Beijing-initiated blacklist to deny entry to known activists from the Falungong spriritual group.
Australia joined the United States and Britain in questioning why several of its nationals were refused entry to the territory ahead of the forum.
A spokeswoman at the department of foreign affairs in Canberra said Australia was seeking clarification from the Hong Kong government.
"It is important for Hong Kong to avoid actions that could be seen as inconsistent with the freedoms of association and expression that are guaranteed in Hong Kong," she said.
More than 100 Falungong practitioners have been refused entry in the past few days, according to the group. Hong Kong officials have defended the territory's right to keep out "undesirable elements."
Protestors complained of being kept out of sight of forum delegates but Financial Secretary Antony Leung said a balance had to be struck to allow the conference to go ahead without disruption.
But he added: "I believe the freedom of information and freedom of expression is very important for a financial centre."
About 30 Falungong followers staged their final meditation exercise as part of a series of protests urging Jiang to relax a mainland crackdown on the spiritual group, which is legal in Hong Kong.
The Chinese president's visit was marred by a variety of protests, including by activists demanding China revise its verdict that the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre was a legitimate crackdown on an insurrection.
A noisy demonstration by supporters greeted the appearance in court of three of the activists, members of the radical April 5 group, who clashed with police on Tuesday.
They had attempted to present Jiang with a mock coffin symbolising the death of democracy in China.
The trio were released on bail after being charged with affray and injuring police officers. One of them had tried to kill himself in custody using a ballpoint pen.