Signs of China Thaw

Washington’s contentious relations with Beijing appear to be slightly on the mend with agreement on a heads-of-state meeting this fall. But the two capitals remain far from engagement on a host of critical issues ranging from regional security in East Asia to China’s membership in the World Trade Organization. Stumbling from one crisis to another will not build the “strategic partnership” the two countries seek.

Extending China’s normal trading privileges with the United States for another year, an issue coming up for a vote in the House of Representatives today, is another step in the right direction. But the Clinton administration has been far too slow to speak out against China’s crackdown on religious sects.

The White House was right in removing human rights issues from the annual trade talks. Hectoring and threatening China with trade sanctions have been counterproductive, at best. But neither should America stand by silently when Beijing jails religious leaders.

U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright’s “very friendly lunch” with Chinese Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan last Sunday represents a slight improvement in tensions. Sino-U.S. contacts have been all but severed since the inadvertent U.S. bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade, the Yugoslav capital, on May 7. Beijing has never accepted the attack as a mistake and continues to demand an explanation and reparations. The latter will be forthcoming, but it might be impossible to persuade the suspicious minds in Beijing that the bombing was not an exercise of U.S. global hegemony. U.S. mistrust of China also has been heightened, by evidence of China’s long-term, widespread, systematic theft of U.S. nuclear secrets.

But the spate of recent crises in Sino-U.S. relations does not discredit Washington’s “engagement” policy. That policy has helped lead to Beijing’s acceptance of market principles and a degree of democratization, at least at the local level. The policy clearly underscores the need for building a relationship based on long-term strategic interests. Engaging China in narrow-issue negotiations does little to dispel mutual suspicions.

Key on the economic front is the admission of China to the WTO on fair, commercially justifiable terms. Washington should make it clear it has a long-term interest in China’s accession to the WTO, a move that would foster Beijing’s commitment to economic reforms. China, although unwilling to reopen WTO talks, clearly demonstrated its desire to join the WTO when it offered significant concessions to U.S. businesses earlier this year.

In handling the thorny regional security issues--including peace on the Korean peninsula and Taiwan’s status--the two sides must reach a clear understanding of their long-term interests and goals. This will not end disagreements, but it will help remove the suspicion, an important early step.