War on Terror May Prompt U.S. to Ease China Sanctions

WASHINGTON —  The Bush administration, seeking to promote exchanges of anti-terrorist intelligence with China, is considering waiving sanctions imposed after the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown that bar the sale of military-related equipment to Chinese security forces, government sources said Tuesday.

The U.S. move would clear the way for the sale of spare parts for Black Hawk helicopters the United States sold to China during the 1980s. The helicopters are designed for use at high altitudes typical of much of China, including its border with Afghanistan.

The waiver would signal a further thaw in U.S.-China relations on the eve of President Bush’s departure today for Shanghai for a meeting of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum. Relations nose-dived after the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown on democracy demonstrators, and tensions flared again last April, when China detained the crew of a U.S. Navy surveillance plane that made an emergency landing after colliding with a Chinese fighter jet.

The run-up to the APEC meeting--which will include talks Friday between Bush and Chinese President Jiang Zemin--underscores the degree to which policy toward China has changed since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the United States. Having come into office calling China a “strategic competitor,” Bush now is focusing on Beijing as a potential partner in the war against terrorism.

Since the attacks, China has tightened its already vigilant patrols of its short western border with Afghanistan and offered to share intelligence, U.S. military officials said. In another gesture, China on Tuesday removed blocks that made it difficult for Chinese citizens to access the Internet sites of three U.S. news organizations, including the Washington Post.

When Bush and Jiang meet on the sidelines of the APEC summit, the highlights are expected to include a restatement by Bush of U.S. support for a “one China” policy, which holds that there is only one China and that the self-governing island Taiwan is part of it. Also expected is a joint statement on terrorism and a Chinese agreement to a U.S. request to open an FBI office in Beijing.

The U.S. focus on terrorism will probably prevent criticism of China’s tough stance toward Uighur separatists in the largely Muslim region of Xinjiang.

But administration officials said key obstacles remain in bilateral relations, including human rights concerns and U.S. allegations that Chinese firms have sold sensitive missile technology to Pakistan and other countries in violation of an agreement reached with the Clinton administration in November.

China has denied that it violated that nonproliferation agreement and has asked the Bush administration to lift sanctions it imposed on China Metallurgical Equipment Corp., which the U.S. alleges sold missile technology to Pakistan. Sources close to the administration said the White House had urged Beijing to nationalize the company, a private firm with close connections to the government.

“Since the sanctions were imposed, there has been no real response,” a senior administration official said. “They are clearly not abiding by their November 2000 agreement with the Clinton administration.”

Administration officials are also frustrated that China has failed to fulfill a promise made in November to publish a list of missile components barred from export and establish a system for enforcement.

Nonetheless, the context for those issues has completely changed. Six months ago, during the showdown over the Navy surveillance plane, Bush and Jiang refused to call each other. But since the attacks on New York and the Pentagon, the two men have communicated by telephone twice and, according to Chinese sources, Bush described Jiang as “a great leader of a great nation” in one conversation.

China, for its part, openly declared that “the Chinese people stand with the American people and the international community in the fight against terrorism.”

The Bush administration has sought Beijing’s support for the U.S.-led campaign against terrorism because China is a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council and has developed close ties with Pakistan, a key U.S. ally in the anti-terrorism war.

At the same time, China sees an opportunity to improve overall relations with the United States in the face of a common enemy.

“The U.S. realizes now that China is not its greatest threat, and there is a real chance for the two countries to become partners,” said Zhu Feng, an international relations scholar at Beijing University. “But it’s a complex situation with many uncertainties, and the Chinese government needs time to assess these challenges.”

Terrorism is expected to be a major focus of the APEC summit, which will include the leaders of 21 nations in Asia and the Americas. Bush is also scheduled to meet separately with Russian President Vladimir V. Putin, but the meeting with Jiang carries special significance because it will be the first between the two.

Though China has strongly condemned the Sept. 11 attacks, Beijing has been wary of fully endorsing the U.S. strikes on Afghanistan and has yet to denounce by name Saudi-born Islamic extremist Osama bin Laden or his terrorist network.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry has said military strikes should have “specific objectives, so as to avoid hurting innocent civilians.”

But given the recent tensions over the plane collision, U.S. arms sales to Taiwan and China’s history of opposing U.S. military action abroad, U.S. diplomats and analysts say they have been satisfied with China’s response.