U.S., China Plan for Fall Summit to Mend Ties

Just days after China declared that relations with the United States were “at their lowest ebb” in 16 years, preparations have begun for a possible fence-mending meeting this fall between President Clinton and Chinese President Jiang Zemin, a senior U.S. official said here Sunday.

“We have too much at stake both in China and the United States to neglect this relationship and try to isolate each other,” Undersecretary of State Peter Tarnoff told reporters.

Secretary of State Warren Christopher and Chinese Foreign Minister Qian Qichen will have a chance to bolster that relationship, beginning with a meeting in late September at the U.N. General Assembly, Tarnoff said. That is likely to be followed by an October summit between Clinton and Jiang. Another presidential meeting is possible in November at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting in Osaka, Japan, officials here said privately.

Tarnoff, the third-highest official in the State Department, met over the weekend with Chinese counterparts in an attempt to repair ties ruptured by conflicts over just-released activist Harry Wu, trade and, most of all, Taiwan.

Already strained Sino-U.S. relations worsened in June with the “private” visit of Taiwanese President Lee Teng-hui to his alma mater, Cornell University--a visit that China interpreted as American support of Taiwan’s aspirations for independence. The United States and China also disagree over China’s continued nuclear testing, Beijing’s alleged missile sales to Pakistan and trade issues.

“There are problems,” Tarnoff said. “The situation in Taiwan is a recent example of considerable turbulence in the relationship.” Clinton’s sudden reversal allowing Lee’s visit caused Foreign Minister Qian personal embarrassment after the Chinese official repeated U.S. assurances that Lee would not be allowed into the United States.

Tarnoff said that Beijing has yet to approve the proposed U.S. ambassador to Beijing, former Tennessee Sen. Jim Sasser, or to replace China’s ambassador to Washington, who was recalled in protest after the Lee visit--leaving the superpowers without top-level diplomatic representation in each other’s capitals. But other official contacts that had been suspended are about to resume, he said.

The conflicts between the countries have been inflamed by pressures from home, analysts say. The U.S. Congress’ overwhelming support for Lee’s visit, the experts say, forced Clinton to go back on his promise to bar the Taiwanese leader from his college reunion.

In turn, Jiang and Qian reportedly were criticized in Chinese government circles for Taiwan’s diplomatic coup. China vented its fury with bitter personal attacks against Lee and two series of missile and live-artillery tests in the East China Sea in the vicinity of Taiwan, which China considers part of its territory.

The domestic backlash here has strengthened the standoff with Washington, analysts say. “Jiang Zemin is under pressure from hard-liners to take a very strong, very nationalistic stance,” said Stanley Rosen, a University of Southern California professor.

Beijing’s official position inevitably influences popular opinion, Rosen noted. Recent polls here show that the United States has fallen dramatically in popularity, especially among Chinese young people who believe that the United States blocked Beijing’s bid for the 2000 Olympic Games and for charter membership in the new World Trade Organization.

Indeed, the Lee visit was portrayed as the latest in a series of U.S. moves to restrain China. The day before Tarnoff arrived in China, the state-run New China News Agency ran an anti-U.S. diatribe accusing Americans of starting “Cold War II” and trying to contain China’s emerging power. Beijing has repeatedly demanded that the United States take “concrete steps”--never specified, but believed to be a pledge that top Taiwanese officials won’t be allowed further U.S. visits--to make up for its having damaged relations.

Tarnoff said he reassured his counterparts that future visits by Taiwanese officials would “have to be private, unofficial and personal,” but he stopped short of barring any visits to the United States.

“I don’t claim we had a meeting of the minds on the Taiwan issue, or other matters that we were discussing,” Tarnoff said. “Rather than saying we turned the corner, I think we helped open up the process.”

Tarnoff’s visit itself--which Beijing had rejected for several weeks--signaled a slight thaw in relations. The release of Chinese American activist Wu and the announcement that First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton will travel to China to attend the U.N. conference on women early next month are two small steps in rebuilding ties, Tarnoff said. But, he noted, they are just a beginning.

“While in substance our differences are not bridged, I think we did have a full airing of views,” Tarnoff said. “There is commitment on both sides that there are other aspects of the relationship which we’re determined to proceed to work on together--notably to prepare the upcoming meetings of our foreign ministers and our presidents.”