We’re Already Playing Catch-Up in China : Progress has been made, despite Tian An Men, and U.S. business can’t afford to stay on the sidelines.
During the 1992 presidential campaign, candidate Bill Clinton did everything possible to avoid debating foreign-policy issues, and America has paid a terrible price for that oversight. Today, the Clinton Administration’s international policy--to the extent it has been defined--is a mess. His secretary of state is weak and unconvincing, and our allies don’t know what to believe. Worse yet, world leaders cannot count on our President’s word for fear that it is nothing more than a trial balloon.
It is urgent that the Administration get its act together whether it be in Bosnia, Somolia, Haiti or this week in Seattle when President Clinton meets with Jiang Zemin, China’s president. This will be an important opportunity for the United States to halt the deteriorating relations between our nations.
I recently returned from meetings in nine cities in China, where President Clinton’s every move is being closely watched. What’s happening in China is “nothing short of a miracle,” according to U.S. Ambassador Stapleton Roy, a career diplomat and seasoned China hand. The economy is booming, small-business enterprises are sprouting up everywhere, and major foreign investments are pouring into the country.
For most business, China represents a huge, relatively untapped market. Major investments have been made by Japan, Hong Kong, Germany, Canada, Malaysia and Australia. Some U.S. corporations have invested in China, but all of that slowed with the Tian An Men student massacre of 1989. According to our embassy in Beijing, senior executives from more than 50 of the Fortune 500 are taking a new interest in China, but many believe that they are already much too late in the competitive game. Others are hesitant to invest because our country’s China policy is unclear.
Since the early 1980s, China’s collective leadership has encouraged an “open door” approach to life. Through it, ordinary people have been free to open shops, express opinions, purchase apartments and travel around the country. CNN and BBC are beaming news from the outside world into China and Western styles have fashioned the nation. Overall, life is gradually improving. It would be virtually impossible to turn back the clock on these freedoms.
In 1989, Americans reacted with shock and revulsion when the Tian An Men massacre occurred. But to close the door again on this huge country would be a terrible mistake.
I first visited China in 1976. At that time, life there was totally controlled by Chairman Mao. More than 1 billion Chinese were told where to live, what to wear, where to work and what to think. Even the most basic needs were rationed in exchange for loyalty to the Communist Party. Today, all that has changed.
My just-concluded travels covered more than 5,000 miles. I spoke with hundreds of ordinary Chinese and some senior government officials, All were totally open in their opinions about their country and its leadership. In days past, they would have gone to prison for expressing some of the views I heard.
By American standards, life in most of China remains miserable, but, compared with a decade ago, times are better. There’s more food, more freedom, more jobs. Chinese workers, particularly in the major cities, are earning more, with housing and education more readily available. Some have become outright capitalists, opening shops and borrowing money to buy apartments.
Deputy Foreign Minister Liu Huaqiu made it very clear to me that his government had heard our message about human rights and nuclear testing. This month, the Chinese government announced its willingness to allow International Red Cross inspections of its prisons, a clearly positive signal on the eve of the Clinton-Jiang meetings.
Ambassador Roy, describing China as “more open today than at any time in 150 years,” is frustrated by the fact that America’s perception of China today is five years behind its reality.
China offers huge market potential to the rest of the world and it’s very troublesome that so many other countries are taking advantage of China’s commitment to a market-driven economy while U.S. businessmen, for the most part, stand on the sidelines.
It will be tough for American business to catch up, but it’s not too late if we can find even a modest basis for more conciliatory relationships between our countries. Hopefully, that will be the outcome of the Clinton-Jiang talks. We can ill afford to botch this one.
