Posted on 10/21/2002 7:56:01 PM PDT by Shermy
HONGKONG - World attention is likely to focus this week on what one Chinese newspaper has described as 'the most significant hour in Sino-US summitry'.
According to Global Times, a paper affiliated to the authoritative People's Daily, that will be the one hour when Chinese President Jiang Zemin and his American counterpart George W. Bush will be alone with one interpreter each.
They will talk in complete privacy on board a boat on a lake in the US leader's ranch in Crawford, Texas, where Mr Jiang is scheduled to arrive on Thursday.
If history is any guide, the two leaders, who will be meeting for a third time this year, are likely to arrive at tacit agreement on some highly significant issues.
In 1979, when paramount leader Deng Xiaoping visited the US, he briefed President Jimmy Carter about his plan 'to teach Vietnam a lesson' when they met one to one.
Soon afterwards, China attacked Vietnam. The US, fresh from its Vietnamese debacle, was more than willing to help, albeit indirectly, by providing the Chinese with intelligence on any troop movements by the Soviet Union, then Vietnam's key military backer.
Given this precedent, it is not inconceivable that when Messrs Jiang and Bush have their tete-a-tete, they might hammer out some major quid pro quo deals.
Most observers believe that Mr Jiang would offer a Chinese abstention in any United Nations Security Council voting on resolutions aimed at giving the US cover for its planned attacks against Iraq - in return for a US pledge not to support any Taiwanese move towards independence.
China might even go so far as to say it will resolve the Taiwan issue peacefully, provided that the US will declare, on its part, not to arm or co-defend the island.
Some observers say Beijing is confident that once the US commits itself to strict neutrality, there will not be any need for China to resort to force.
There are grounds for optimism. As this is likely to be Mr Jiang's last visit to the US as China's top leader, he will not embark on it if he is not sure of an outcome that can be presented as the crowning achivement to round off his watch.
The US appears keen to help him preserve his legacy.
A recent New York Times editorial urged the US President to do exactly that, in view of Mr Jiang's strong pro-American stance.
If the US does do a deal on Taiwan, it would go a long way to entrench the largely pro-American diplomatic stance adopted by the Chinese leadership thus far.
The summit will take place amid the emergence of a more mature view on China's part towards the US.
According to the latest issue of Xuexi Shibao, a publication run by the Central Party School since September 1999 to help cadres understand government policies, Vice-Premier Qian Qichen has identified three constants in Sino-American relations.
First, there is a solid base for bilateral cooperation because both are leading countries and depend on each other to develop their respective economy.
Second, basic contradictions between them will stay for a long time because both have very different ideological and political systems.
Third, the dual nature of American policy towards China 'characterised by the periodic swing of mood between containment to engagement' will continue to cause ups and downs in bilateral relations.
It is thus better for China to play smart and not be blinded by needless fury, he argues, adding that China should focus unswervingly on economic development.
This more mature view towards the US explains Beijing's optimism about the Crawford summit.
The US is also very upbeat.
Its ambassador to Beijing, Mr Clark Randt, told Chinese television prior to Mr Jiang's trip that bilateral relations 'have never been better' and that 'there is not one single one in the Bush administration that is anti-China''.
A quiet deal to resolve the Taiwan problem peacefully will remove the largest single obstacle to better bilateral ties.
Until now, relations are riddled with periodic testy exchanges, with Washington warning Beijing not to bully Taipei, and Beijing warning the US, in turn, to keep its hands off Taiwan.
A tangible result of the visit this week could be the resumption of military-to-military contacts, suspended after the 2001 EP-3 incident in which a US spy plane collided with a Chinese jet fighter off the coast of south China.
China might also ask for the suspension of the ban on the transfer of US technology, imposed since the Tiananmen Incident 13 years ago.
That incident has had American attention locked ever since on China's human rights record. Mr Jiang is likely to request less harping on the matter.
Encouraged by the outcome of recent talks between Beijing and the Dalai Lama's envoys, the US is likely to press for direct dialogue between them.
It is also expected to press for strict Chinese adherence to World Trade Organisation rules on opening up its market to American exporters. President Bush is known for raising very specific crop issues with Mr Jiang.
On the international front, further cooperation in anti-terrorism, stepped up efforts by China to curb missile exports, including exerting influences on North Korea to decommission the latter's nuclear weapons, are likely to top the agenda.
I'm square in Dubya's corner, he don't take campaign contributions from China's Minister of Defence, as x42dirtpotustraitorrapist was so eager to do.
"POSLYINGSOSCIC"= Piece of Sh*t, lying, sack of Sh*t, cigar inserting criminal.
Correct?
If China committed to resolving the issue peacefully, why would they care about military aid to Taiwan? Seems to me they would only care about that if they were planning to attack Taiwan.
1. China will agree to remove the missiles opposing Taiwan, and in return Bush will delay the sale of subs to Taiwan. It will be a contingent deal based on Beijing's following through with the deal.
At the same time though Bush will reiterate his willingness to defend Taiwan should they come under attack.
2. China is the biggest proliferator of WMD technology therefore Bush will (shortly after the summit) impose fines on US corporations that have illegally transferred tech to China. The Cox Report will come to a head. The Admin will adopt a wait and see attitude as far as the new Chinese export controls are concerned.
The Tian An Men sanctions will not be lifted, or they will be replaced with a new set of rules governing tech exports to China. Quite possibly there will be an uppage of US personell in China to keep track of proliferation activities.
China may also agree to slow down, or outright stop producing missiles that threaten Taiwan.
China is wise enough to know not to pit a Chinese missile against our ability to shoot it down. There are tons of other reasons also, economic and political.
M - O - O - N, that spells degenerate traitorous vermin.
Yes, I love the thought of the nameless one's reign being in the past tense.
Possible that there will be a re-deployment of our Naval power in the area also...just to make sure...
That, or a verbal agreement that we won't sell Taiwan AEGIS.
Rules on bio agents set tone for Jiang's visit (Singapore paper)
"BEIJING - In a move intended to set the mood for conciliation, China has issued rules on regulating biological agents a week before President Jiang Zemin visits the United States.
It sends the message to the US that China is opposed to the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and is serious about preventing biological weapons from getting into the wrong hands.
Professor Liang Yingming at Beijing University noted: 'The announcement is to show China is against weapons proliferation, something the US wants to hear. Of course, it's conciliatory enough to set a good mood for President Jiang's visit.' ..."
October 20
China Issues Measures on Control of Chemicals Exports (People's Daily)
"The Chinese government issued a set of measures on controlling chemicals exports on Friday via a decree co-signed by Shi Guangsheng, minister of the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation, Li Rongrong, minister in charge of the State Economic and Trade Commission and Mou Xinsheng, director of the General Administration of Customs of the People's Republic of China. ... (proliferation issues discussed)..."
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People's Daily full of such articles, plus articles about American airmen in WWII, calling them martyrs and such. Also a lot of discussion about oil security.
They seem quite hopeful and positive about the trip. BTW, Singapore straits-Times is a great site for article on the Orient. Go to a story about, for example, China, and recent stories about China will come up with the article, linked via a column on the right side.
The Far Eastern Economic Review is pretty good usually. Most Asia reports are slanted or downright not very good because of a lack of objectivity, English, or research or any combination of the above.
China has been doing all kinds of deals and this and that lately. They recently signed an oil deal...China/US/Middle East country for supplying oil to China. THAT is pretty darn big there.
Yeah, I imagine so... NOW that China is in trouble and has been getting so much heat on things.
Because there are articles doesn't make it so. Bad habits die hard. All this North Korea nuclear stuff has China right in mind.
We had a ban on transfer of technology? Who forgot to tell the PoSlyingSoSCIC?
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