Sino-US High-level Contacts to Prepare Summit Meeting

The US State Department announced on September 7 that Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage would pay a visit to China in early October in the capacity as the special envoy of President George W. Bush, to pave the way for Bush's China visit. According to informed sources, two months ago, Armitage accepted the invitation to visit China when he met with Zhou Wenzhong, assistant foreign minister, who was then visiting the United States. This will be the first visit to China to be paid by Armitage in the capacity as the No.2 figure of the US State Department.

On September 6, a spokeperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry announced that at the invitation of US Secretary of State Colin Powell, Chinese Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan will pay an official visit to the United States from September 20 to 21. During which time Tang will meet with Powell and other senior US officials. The meeting will make preparations for the October Shanghai summit talks between President Jiang Zemin and US President George W. Bush and for Bush's China visit. The statement published on September 6 by the US State Department says: The Chinese Foreign Minister's visit will offer an opportunity for the United States and China to continue establishing constructive relations.

A recent US media report says that Condoleezza Rice, assistant to US Presidential National Security Affairs, will visit China in the near future to consult with the Chinese government on matters concerning the US development of the NMD system. The US National Security Council has confirmed this news. Rice has disclosed that his country will take the initiative to provide China with related NMD information, so as to dispel China's misgiving as far as possible. Rice admits that the United States hopes to get in contact with China on the NMD issue, but in fact, up to now, such contact has not yet really begun. Some US government officials indicate that related contents expounded by Rice are part of US new China policy. This policy will be comprehensively expounded during President Bush's meeting with President Jiang Zemin.

The New York Times quoted senior US officials as saying that the Bush administration's new tactics toward China shows that there has been fairly big change in the American policy toward China. But some US media are of the opinion that since the recent Middle East situation is very tense, whether or not Rice, a person Bush heavily relies upon, can go to China before Bush's China visit, remains unknown.

Heads of the Two Countries Attach Importance to Bilateral Ties

Experts in international issues have noted that undeniably, the Sino-US plane collision incident occurred April 1 this year has, to some extent, harmed Sino-US relations, it, however, has given Bush, who took office not long ago, an opportunity to get a new understanding of China. Bush has gradually come to realize that to carry out so-called strategic competition with China is "a mission impossible to accomplish", whereas to build a constructive relationship with China is needed by both sides. US media have disclosed that on July 5 at the time of the eastern part of the United States, President Bush had a 20-odd minutes' talks with President Jiang Zemin through China-US "head of state hotline telephone". This was Bush's first telephone conversation with the Chinese leader since he became president in January this year. A White House spokesperson affirmed that the two leaders' talks proceeded amidst a very sincere atmosphere. Undoubtedly, this is an important event in the annals of the China-US relations. The two leaders' hotline contact this time represents a step taken by the Bush administration to adjust its policy toward China, while Powell's tour to China has led to the basic accomplishment of the adjustment.

Thereafter, high-level exchanges between the two coutries have become even more active. In the latter half of July, Colin Powell visited China. President Jiang Zemin had a talk with him, in which Powell seriously expressed that the United States had no intention to be an enemy of China, still less to engage in confrontation with China. When he was interviewed by the CCTV of China, Powell used the term "friend" seven times, so that his Beijing trip has attracted the attention of the world's people.

Two Old Men Rushing About for China-US Relations

The US government has repeatedly sent people to visit China, some former US important government officials have also been rushing about for the sound development of China-US relations.

On the afternoon of September 2, former US President Jimmy Carter arrived in Beijing, beginning his visit to China. On September 6, Carter was cordially received by President Jiang Zemin. Carter thanked President Jiang for granting him the reception, at the same time, he said that the "Carter Center" he set up after he quitted his post was designed to further promote the development of US-China ties. According to him, US-China relations will certainly undergo sustained and steady development.

Another important objective of Carter's trip is to attend the symposium on the "question concerning China's villagers autonomy" jointly held by the Chinese Ministry of Civil Affairs and the Carter Center. Outside the symposium, Carter saw with his own eyes the process of the election of the villagers committee that took place in Quanwang Village in Kunshan, Suzhou City of Jiangsu Province. On the morning of September 5, Carter smilingly stepped into the election site. The villagers welcomed his arrival with warm applause. After the election began, villagers aired their views freely, expressed their hopes on the candidates, the candidates vied with one another to publicize their "election programs", and called on the villagers to cast a vote for them. Sitting on one side, Carter quietly watched the 801 voters enthusiastically vast their votes and conscientiously "participated" in the whole process of the election of members to the village committee.

The news about Carter's "going to the countryside" of China attracted the attention of various large media in the world. Reuter, AP and other media published reports and comments on the matter.

US media report pointed out that Carter was only a retired old man in the political circle, Chinese media reports on his visit had not "gone beyond the prescribed standard", but Western media appeared to be more enthusiastic about this. Experts on international issues pointed out Carter was still influential in the US political world. In 1981, he stepped down from his post as president and then founded the Carter Center. he had time and again offered advice and suggestions concerning the US government's foreign policy and has been traveling around overseas for world peace. Carter's viewpoints are quite representative in the US political arena, some of his viewpoints regarding China-US relations have also received support from many important US government officials. What Carter saw and heard in China this time may exert some influence on the US government and may help the US government to understand China's national conditions and the democratic system, thereby boosting the development of China-US relations.

Besides Carter, there is another American old man who is also working hard for the development of Sino-US relations. And he is Dr. Henry A. Kissinger, former US Secretary of State. It can be said that Kissinger is a representative who devotes his efforts to promoting the development of Sino-US ties. Between 1969 and 1973 he served as assistant of National Security Affairs to the US President and became Secretary of State from 1973 to 1977. In 1987, Kissinger, who had resigned from the leading post, together with former Secretary of State Cyrus Vance, took the lead to establish the "US-China Association", and co-chaired the association, engaging in friendly exchanges with China.

Kissinger has visited China many times. On March 15 this year, a 16-member delegation of the US-China Associatin he led arrived in Beijing to pay a week-long visit to China. During his stay in China, Kissinger was received by Premier Zhu Rongji and Vice-Premier Qian Qichen, exchanging views mainly on Sino-US relations and some other issues.

The Taiwan issue is an important question concerning China-US relations, Kissinger had a sober understanding of this. In June Kissinger had his new work, "Does the United States Need Foreign Policy?", published. In the book he points out that the US government does not have long-term foreign policy, but only has tactics suitable to the occasion. In the book, he lashes out at some Americans who support the Taiwan authorities in clandestinely pushing the creation of "two Chinas", thinking that this move is "actually short-sighted". He held that unless Taiwan "declared independence", China would not use force against Taiwan. Kissinger also appealed to Taiwan leaders to exercise self-restraint, and refrain from being dead set on pursuing US formal "diplomatic" recognition.

In early 2001, after the Chinese government declared increasing defense budget, some Americans made a big fuss about this, giving rise to much discussion about the "theory of China threat". On July 18, Kissinger sternly refuted this fallacy. He said that China would not become a threat to the United States, regarding China as enemy is of no good to both the United States and China. He added that China's military spending in 1999 was US$12 billion, while that of the United States reached US$320 billion and that of Japan US$50 billion. China will not constitute a military threat to the United States, some Americans' insistence on the "throry of China threat" is untenable.

Analysts say that although Kissinger is already advanced in age and has retired for many years, as a man of the "think tank", he is equally influential as Carter, and his efforts made to develop China-US relations are certain to be fruitful.

The US influential Christian Science Monitor recently published a commentary by David M. Lampton, a sinologist and professor of The Johns Hopkins. The article pointed out that Bush has gradually felt the importance of US-China relations. On this point, Bush has made a quicker turn than his predecessors Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton.

According to the analysis of the article, Bush's China policy has returned to the mild line consistently pursued by the previous six administrations. The fact that the White House finally peacefully eased the Sino-US plane collision incident, Bush's planned visit to Beijing in October to meet with his Chinese counterpart as well as the Bush administration's decision on refraining from obstructing China's bid for hosting the 2008 Olympic Games has undoubtedly indicated: Bush's policy toward China has begun a tendency to relaxation. During the Reagan period, the US government's China policy was back to the correct path only after making a detour for one and a half years; the Clinton administration correctly placed its China policy only after spending nearly three and a half years' time; the time taken by the Bush administration to discover the importance of China-US relations is less than one year.

The commentary pointed out that the overwhelming majority of the American voters adopted a friendly attitude toward China. The result of a poll conducted US-based Pew Research Center showed that only one-fifth of the Americans thought China to be enemy of the United States, whereas there was no change in the view in the past two years which thought China's rise may endanger the interests of the United States. The several polls conducted recently by other US media have come to the basic conclusion as that drawn by the above-said research center.





By People's Daily Online


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