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.