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Map of Asia |
CIAO DATE: 12/02
United States-China Relations in the Wake of 9-11
Ambassador Clark T. Randt, Jr.
January 21, 2002, Hong Kong
It's great to be back! As many of you know, I was privileged to live in Hong Kong for 18 years, and my children were raised here. I want to thank the American Chamber of Commerce and the Asia Society for providing me with this wonderful opportunity to see many old friends and colleagues. Landing at Chek Lap Kok last week, the lush green hills, sparkling sea and, most of all, the warm sun were welcome indeed.
I cannot pretend otherwise: I absolutely love my new job! As some of you know, I first visited China on business in 1974. At that time, I was 6'2" and had a full head of hair like [Ed Turner's]. The Cultural Revolution was still under way and signs exhorting the masses to "pi kong pi lin" were everywhere. Ordinary citizens risked arrest for simply talking to me. The odds of my becoming ambassador of the United States of America to China were, until very recently, even greater than the odds that, a mere 28 years after my first visit, China would have two public stock exchanges and be preparing to let entrepreneurs join the party.
For me, this job is a dream come true and, I wouldn't trade it for anything.
Some of you may wonder what an ambassador does all day. Outsiders have offered varying views. Some wags have suggested that a diplomat is someone sent abroad to eat for his country. Others see a diplomat as a conciliator and promoter of good relations between two countries. These are true but only to a point.
My most important role as ambassador is to promote and protect the interests of the United States.
The United States' relationship with China is arguably the most important bilateral relationship in the world. While, as I shall discuss in more detail later, our strategic and other interests are shared by China in many important areas, particularly after September 11. In other areas, the Chinese positions and practices continue to be at odds with United States interests and values. In those cases, it's not my job to paper over those differences. In those cases, it's my job to talk straight.
Human rights and religious freedoms (cases)
The President has asked me not to leave home without my American values. Let me be clear, the President has a deep respect for China and its long history and rich culture, for its talented people and for the remarkable progress China has made over the last two decades.
In Shanghai, last October, President Bush made abundantly clear the importance of his religious faith and human rights to him personally.
Our repeated message to the Chinese is this: We respect China as a great country but if China wants to be treated as a responsible member of the international community, then it must abide by the international norms of behavior, as such are articulated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other United Nations' covenants.
In this regard, the President has expressed his grave personal concern over the case of Hong Kong businessman Lai Kwong-keung, who sits in jail awaiting trail, apparently for importing Bibles. The importance of the Bible to Christians and the negative impact of such a story on the image of China in the United States cannot be overestimated. This is particularly sad in that, as most of you know, thanks to several Christian foundations, more Bibles are currently being printed in China with the permission of the Chinese government, than almost anywhere in the world.
Regrettably, such cases of human rights abuse are still all too common. Among these are:
Bishop Su Zhimin, a Catholic bishop who disappeared after being arrested in Hebei in October 1987. Bishop Su was in his 70's and in frail health when arrested. All attempts to contact him have failed.
Jigme Sangpo, a 74-year-old Tibetan monk who was sentenced in 1983 to 28 years for allegedly distributing counter-revolutionary propaganda and materials. He is currently serving his term in Dropchi Prison.
Liu Yaping, a long-term permanent resident of the United States and businessman from Connecticut who has had the misfortune to get caught in a local power struggle in Hohot, Inner-Mongolia. He has been held for more than one year without being formally arrested or brought to trial. Since suffering a brain aneurysm, Mr. Liu has been held in a hospital but not treated. Efforts to send doctors to examine Mr. Liu have been rebuffed by the local authorities.
Xu Wenli, sentenced to 13 years in December 1998 for co-founding the China Democratic Party. Mr. Xu has contracted hepatitis B while in Yanqing Prison. He has a daughter in the United States.
To address just such cases, among other related issues, the United States and China held the first session of a formal human rights dialogue last October in preparation for President Bush's visit to APEC in Shanghai. The United States team is lead by Lorne Craner, Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor. I wish to emphasize what this dialogue is not. It is not a series of meetings where the United States lectures and wags its finger at China like a school marm to a truant child. This process is a genuine two-way dialogue in which both sides speak candidly.
As a result of this process, last night and this morning, I have had the pleasure of reporting to senators Jeffords and Leahy and Congressman Sanders that Ngawang Choephel, the Tibetan ethno-musicologist and ex-Fulbright scholar from Middlebury College, is a free man after serving more than 6 1/2 years of an 18-year sentence in Deyang Prison, Sichuan, for allegedly using his work collecting Tibetan folk songs as cover for espionage and so-called splittist activities. In prison, Ngawang had become ill, and the Chinese authorities, in a humanitarian gesture, have granted him medical parole. At this moment, he is in Washington, D.C., for medical treatment. This very welcomed development is the result of not only our dialogue but also the efforts of members of Congress, particularly those from the state of Vermont, and of the many dedicated NGO's such as former Hong Kong resident John Kamm's Duihua Foundation.
I earnestly hope that, before the President visits Beijing in late February, I shall be able to report additional releases by China on humanitarian and medical grounds, to include those persons whom I have mentioned today. A China that is open to all forms of religious thought will be a greater and more respected nation.
9/11 - A world transformed
September 11 was a defining moment in United States-China relations. In Beijing on the evening of September 11, President Jiang was watching CNN when the events unfolded live. Despite significant anti-American sentiment within China's ruling circles, a residue of the Belgrade bombing, the EP-3 incident and decades of anti-American and anti-foreign propaganda, the Chinese response, led by President Jiang, was immediate and unconditional. By 0130 on September 12, only a few hours after the attacks, President Jiang had sent a personal message to President Bush expressing his sympathy and condolences to the American people and offering the support of the Chinese government in combating terrorism. At the same time, Foreign Minister Tang sent Secretary Powell a message which said that "in the fight against terrorism, the United States and China stand side by side." This support was acknowledged and appreciated by President Bush who called President Jiang on September 12 to thank him.
When the coalition retaliated against the terrorists hiding in Afghanistan, China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson said that China supports the strikes against terrorism. China, as a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, joined with the United States in supporting resolutions aimed at stopping the terrorists. China, also, began to cooperate with us by meaningful intelligence-sharing, and by tracking down and freezing certain terrorist-related bank accounts.
That China would respond in this way could not have been taken for granted. Consider that from the founding of the People's Republic in 1949 and confirmed at the Bandung Conference of 1955, China has presented itself as the champion of the non-aligned Third World. This legacy was reflected in Chinese reluctance to fully support the United States and its allies during the Gulf War and in its opposition to the NATO intervention in Serbia. China remained sitting on the bench during those international actions.
Now, however, China is actively engaged with the international community of nations. China has joined the WTO, agreeing to abide by its rules-based system that governs international trade in goods and services. As a consequence of WTO membership, China will be working together with the member countries of the WTO to further liberalize trade as part of the new trade round agreed to in Doha. China hosted the successful APEC leaders' summit in Shanghai together with its leaders' statement on counterterrorism and China has been selected to host the Olympic Games in 2008. China has also, as has been previously noted, stepped up the plate as a participating member of the international coalition against terrorism.
I wish to stress that, China's participation in this coalition is not the result of any devil's bargain. Being a valuable member of the coalition does not mean that China receives a free pass with respect to issues of non-proliferation, human rights, religious freedom or Taiwan. It does not mean, as the President said in Shanghai, that China can use terrorism as an excuse to persecute its ethnic minorities.
United States-China relations - a positive vision
Let us focus now more closely on United States-China relations. The administration believes that a prosperous and stable China at peace with itself and the world is in the interest of the United States and in the interest of global peace and prosperity. One of my missions is to provide positive reenforcement for the view held by some in China that China's long-term interests lie in a candid, cooperative and constructive relationship with the United States.
In many positive respects, the United States and China share vital strategic and other interests that constitute a positive framework for the relationship moving forward. To continue to feed and clothe its massive 1.26 billion population, China requires peace and stability in the region and a robust world economy to take up China's goods. As a consequence, China recognizes that the United States is a Pacific power and that its presence in the Asia-Pacific region is a force for peace and stability. Not only do we, China and all civilized nations share an interest in combating terrorism worldwide, China has worked to stabilize the potentially volatile Korean peninsula, and we are working together with China to urge restraint in South Asia on the parts of India and Pakistan.
In respect of other critical issues with global impact, the United States strongly supported China's entry into the WTO as part of the process of including China into the international rules-based system that governs trade and commerce among the world's leading economies.
The positive vote on China's accession to the World Trade Organization, followed a day later by Taiwan's accession, is a watershed event. After 15 years of negotiations, WTO trade ministers unanimously voted in favor of China's application, bringing a market of 1.26 billion people into the global trading system. To be a member of WTO, China has committed to open up its markets to international access. More importantly, China's legal system will have to conform to international standards of fairness, transparency and predictability, providing a boost for the rule of law ("fa zhi") as opposed to rule by law ("yi fa zhi guo").
I note in passing that in the year 2000 we had an $84 billion trade deficit with China. This is in part because American markets have been open, while Chinese markets are not. WTO should work over time to reduce this unacceptable disparity.
Problems such as environmental protection, energy policy, drug trafficking, alien smuggling and HIV-AIDS are international issues that cannot be effectively addressed without China at the table. China's size and population make it a key player and this is particularly true in the environmental and health areas.
Managing differences
Against the backdrop of these vital shared interests, the United States and China continue to have differences such as in the areas of religious freedom and human rights that we have already discussed. As long as neither side loses sight of the importance of our shared interests and respect for one another, we shall be able to manage our differences. Our goal is not that China should be just like Dorothy's Kansas, but we do insist that China abide by certain international norms.
Before moving on, I would like to make mention of two continuing contentious issues that plague our relationship: non-proliferation and Taiwan.
Non-proliferation
The September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon have made non-proliferation a "friend or foe" issue. It is essential that all nations, including China, cooperate with the United States and the international community to limit the spread of missile technology and weapons of mass destruction. We do not want Chinese materials or technology involved in the production and delivery of weapons of mass destruction to wind up in the wrong hands. September 11 has shown the world that terrorists will not hesitate to use such weapons, and that terrorists are actively looking for them. This is a wake-up call for all civilized countries.
Our experience to date is that China does not have an effective export control regime for sensitive materials and items. I should be crystal clear on this point. Non-proliferation is a make or break issue for us.
Taiwan
Taiwan is an issue with respect to which we need to be very direct and unambiguous in our dealings with China. The United States provides Taiwan with defensive articles and services necessary to maintain a sufficient self-defense capability. This policy is in accord with the three United States-China joint communiqués and the Taiwan Relations Act. We do not negotiate specific arms sales with Beijing. China can reduce the need for Taiwan to increase its defensive capabilities through its own behavior. For example, Chinese missile tests in the Taiwan Straits in 1996 and, more recently, the steadily increasing Chinese deployment of missiles along its eastern coast opposite Taiwan, led directly to Taiwan's desire to enhance its defensive capabilities. We see our sales of defensive arms sales as helping the people of Taiwan to have the confidence to deal with their counterparts across the strait.
The United States still maintains a one-China policy and does not support a declaration of independence by Taiwan. We believe that Taipei and Beijing must work out their disagreements peacefully between themselves, in a manner acceptable to the peoples on both sides of the Taiwan Strait. President Bush has made it quite clear that an unprovoked use of force to resolve this issue would be unacceptable to the United States.
Conclusion
President Bush, himself, in Shanghai has set the stage for a more stable, candid, constructive and cooperative relationship with China based on a positive vision of our vital shared interests, a vision that he will be building on in Beijing next month.
As Secretary Powell has said, our relationship with China is too multi-faceted and too complex to be characterized by a single catch phrase. We need to look with clear eyes at the whole relationship - the good and the bad. The possibilities and the perils. In pursuing our aims, we will have differences that we need to address frankly. The important point is that we can manage these differences in a civil fashion without becoming enemies.
I've already spoken too long, and I want to leave some time for your questions. Let me sum up: In the 21st century, China will exert a powerful influence in the Asia-Pacific region. Size does matter. Over one billion people cannot be ignored. Of course, we will compete for influence and resources but that is healthy, and the United States is up to the challenge.
We want China to become a responsible member of the world community because that would be good for the United States, good for your children and grandchildren and good for mine. We want a candid, cooperative and constructive relationship that will make the world a safer and more prosperous place.
I know that President Bush is looking forward to meeting with the Chinese leadership in Beijing next month to discuss candidly those issues which concern us while working on the programs and processes that will move forward the vital shared national interests of our two great nations and peoples.
Not a day passes but that I am reminded that the United States and China have a historic opportunity that will require efforts on both sides of the Pacific. We are ready. Working for President Bush and Secretary Powell as the American ambassador to China is an incredible honor and privilege - as well as an extremely humbling responsibility. Thank you for your attention. I'd be pleased to entertain your questions.
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