Sino-American summit

Sino-American summit

One of the goals which China's President Jiang Zemin wants to
achieve during his visit to the United States is the restoration
of the warm relations the two countries enjoyed in the early
1980s. This was before ties went sour following the brutal
crackdown carried out by the People's Liberation Army against
pro-democracy protesters in Tiananmen Square in 1989.

Jiang also hopes to win the hearts of the American people and
politicians, so gaining their trust in Beijing's commitment to
continue the liberalization of its political and economic systems
as outlined by the late Deng Xiaoping. This reform blueprint has
made China a fledgling giant in the international arena and is
expected to make the country, with its 1.2 billion population, an
economic powerhouse in the next decade.

The most important goal, however, is to clinch a deal with
Washington on sales of nuclear technology so that China can meet
the growing energy requirements of its vast development projects.
It is said that Beijing has allocated $50 billion to $60 billion
to build its nuclear industry up until the year 2015.

The United States has banned sales of nuclear technology to
China on the grounds that Beijing has been helping other
countries considered hostile to the Washington government,
thereby threatening U.S. nationals and interests. It is widely
known that China's nuclear cooperation with Iran and Pakistan has
caused great concern in Washington.

China reportedly agreed last week, before Jiang's departure to
the U.S., to halt nuclear cooperation with Iran. The U.S. accuses
Iran of using the strategic technology to develop nuclear weapons
rather than using it for peaceful means.

Now that Beijing has fulfilled the condition set by
Washington, and U.S. reactor builders have carried out intense
lobbying of President Bill Clinton's administration so that they
be allowed to compete with France, Canada and Russia for China's
burgeoning reactor market, it is almost a forgone conclusion that
sales of U.S. nuclear technology to China will be agreed upon.

Besides, sixteen senators, many from states that would
significantly benefit economically from sales to China, urged
Clinton to sign the accord arguing that nuclear power would help
China reduce its excessive consumption of coal, which will
eventually lead to global warming as a result of carbon gas
emissions.

Today's talks between Jiang and Clinton are expected to bring
the two nations into a new spirit of cooperation which will also
benefit the international community, particularly countries in
the Asia-Pacific region. As Jiang put it before he started his
U.S. trip: "Sino-American relations have a favorable opportunity
for further improvement" and that the two countries have a common
responsibility to help preserve world peace.

Obviously, any agreement the U.S. and China may reach during
the summit, especially when it deals with nuclear technology and
military cooperation, should best be made as transparently as
possible so as not to cause concern in neighboring Asian nations.

Analysts here believe that although most countries in the
Asia-Pacific region expect to see relations between Beijing and
Washington improving, those countries do not wish to see Sino-
American ties evolve in such a way that they compromise the
American security umbrella in the region.

If that happens, a modern, powerful China will be seen by
neighboring countries more as a threat than a friend, while the
United States would become an untrustworthy ally.