Clinton, Jiang aim at summit agreements<\/p>\n
WASHINGTON (Reuters): Amid the fanfare of the first U.S.-China
\nsummit since the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown, President Bill Clinton
\nand Chinese President Jiang Zemin sought agreement on economic
\nand security issues yesterday.<\/p>\n
Clinton and Jiang, who held informal talks in the White House
\nresidence Tuesday night, were to lay out their agendas in
\nspeeches at a welcoming ceremony steeped in military pomp on the
\nsouth lawn of the executive mansion.<\/p>\n
After the ceremony, which included a 21-gun salute, the two
\nplanned a lengthy private meeting covering a list of topics that
\nincluded trade, nuclear cooperation, and joint efforts to protect
\nthe environment.<\/p>\n
Their aim was to build a foundation for a new relationship
\nbetween the United States and the world's most populous nation
\nafter years of friction stemming from the Chinese army attack on
\nprodemocracy demonstrators in Tiananmen Square in 1989.<\/p>\n
U.S. officials said they expected an agreement that would
\nclear the way for U.S. nuclear energy exports to China, and hoped
\nfor a Chinese commitment to cooperate in a global campaign to
\nreduce \"greenhouse\" gas emissions.<\/p>\n
But Clinton and Jiang were competing for public attention with
\nthe gyrations of global financial markets, which soared yesterday
\nin response to Tuesday's dramatic U.S. rebound from a nosedive
\nthat began with market turmoil in Hong Kong.<\/p>\n
Also dampening any summit euphoria was a mass gathering of
\nprotesters in a park across the street from the White House for a
\nrally against China's policies on human rights, Tibet and Taiwan.<\/p>\n
\"I think there should be cooperation, but I think we should be
\nclear. That's the problem here. We've been sending such mixed
\nmessages to the Chinese since the very first days of the Clinton
\nadministration,\" actor Richard Gere, a protest organizer, said on
\nthe ABC's \"Good Morning America\" program.<\/p>\n
Exiled Chinese dissidents, U.S. labor and political leaders
\nand an array of activists for various causes were to address the
\nrally.<\/p>\n
In what the White House termed \"very direct, personal and
\nsubstantive\" warmup talks on the eve of the summit, Clinton and
\nJiang discussed the very subjects that sparked summit protests in
\nthe United States, a Clinton spokesman said.<\/p>\n
They reached agreement at their preliminary meeting on
\ninstalling a telephone hot line between Washington and Beijing.<\/p>\n
The telephone connection would be styled after the one that
\nlinked Washington and Moscow in the days of the Cold War in a bid
\nto decrease tensions.<\/p>\n
Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Shen Guofang scoffed at
\nprotests that have dogged Jiang since his arrival in Honolulu
\nSunday for a nine-day visit to the United States, saying the
\nprotesters were ignorant.<\/p>\n
\"I think most of these people do not understand China's
\nsituation very well,\" he said.<\/p>\n
James Lilley, U.S. ambassador to China in the George Bush
\nadministration, said Washington's policy of \"constructive
\nengagement\" which Clinton adopted from Bush was working.<\/p>\n
Editorial -- Page 4<\/p>\n
Tibet -- Page 6<\/p>\n
Photo -- Page 16<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/clinton-jiang-aim-at-summit-agreements-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }