Our Timidity Is Wrong; Give China Stiff Sanctions

Official Washington’s response to the bloody massacre in Tian An Men Square has been limp and tardy. President Bush and Secretary of State James A. Baker III waited for days as army tanks crushed students and workers before announcing the suspension of military sales to China, then ruled out economic sanctions that would have had far greater significance. And Congress has been reluctant to press for sanctions beyond the President’s ban on arms sales. This timidity is wrong.

A good place to start on sanctions is a prohibition on the sale of high-technology items to China. In 1988, the United States sold $2.9-billion worth of strategic goods and technology to China. These “dual-use” sales included computers and other sophisticated items that could contribute significantly to China’s military programs, but do not include weapons. This trade with China dwarfs the $600 million in sales of weapons that President Bush halted.

The United States can and should announce that it is adopting a “no exceptions” policy with respect to exports of high-technology goods to China. That would influence far more than U.S. exports, since exports of dual-use items to China are approved by a multilateral coordinating committee that includes the United States, NATO countries, Australia and Japan. A decision by one member of the group to ban exports of the most sophisticated high-tech items is binding on the others.

Congress also should insist that the United States oppose loans to China from the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank. That would be is consistent with current U.S. human rights law, which instructs our representatives to the multilateral development banks to vote against loans to countries whose governments are engaged in a “consistent pattern of gross violations of internationally recognized human rights.”

According to the Treasury Department, there are four loans to China pending in the World Bank and Asian Development Bank, totaling $5.8 billion. The United States should work behind the scenes to prevent these loans from even coming up for a vote; failing that, our representatives should vote against them and urge our allies to do the same.

If existing human rights laws were applied to China, they also would limit the activities of the U.S. Overseas Private Investment Corp. The agency is prohibited from granting insurance and guarantees for U.S. investments in countries whose governments have committed gross abuses of human rights. In 1988, OPIC provided $48-million worth of coverage to 11 American investment projects in China, making China the ninth-highest recipient out of about 100 countries covered by the agency for political violence insurance.

While American firms will probably be wary of further investment in China in the wake of the violence and political uncertainty, Congress should signal Beijing its revulsion for the massacre by suspending future OPIC activity in China.

President Bush’s suspension of arms sales to China was a welcome step, but his--and Congress’--failure to consider further sanctions is regrettable. Why the tepid response?

Bush has justified his refusal to consider economic sanctions on the grounds that he wants to avoid “hurting” the Chinese citizens. The sentiment is noble, but hardly answers the question. There was little concern about the impact of trade sanctions on “the people” when the United States imposed trade sanctions against Poland, Iran, Nicaragua and the Soviet Union. The more likely answer is that the President is reluctant to interfere with lucrative business relationships between the United States and China, and fears a fraying of the Washington’s “special relationship” with Beijing.

Congress appears to be content with condemning the massacre, and has suggested that further sanctions won’t be considered unless the human rights situation worsens. The worst has already happened: Tian An Men Square doesn’t have to be invaded by tanks twice. Significant sanctions should be imposed immediately. And the Chinese should be warned that further sanctions, including suspension of “most favored nation” trade status, will be considered if killings continue or if leaders and participants in the democracy movement are jailed.

In communist countries other than China, our executive branch has needed no prodding from Congress to adopt strong human rights policies, including, in some cases, economic sanctions in response to gross violations of human rights. In non-communist countries with severe human rights problems, including El Salvador, Chile, South Africa, Korea, Somalia and Haiti, Congress has taken the lead on human rights. Neither Congress nor the President appears to be considering a sufficiently strong response to flagrant and horrifying abuses of human rights in China.

U.S. policy towards China needs a strong dose of outrage. If the President can’t bring himself to take appropriate action, Congress should enact sanctions legislation requiring him to do so.