Mr. Clinton’s visit to
China
marks a great shift in American foreign policy towards
China
, particularly after that tensed period, in which there were serious allegations and counter charges over the Taiwan Straits missile issue hardly two years ago. Why did
Clinton
go in the face of severe criticism in the Congress and the Senate? What were the Chinese calculations behind extending the invitation when there was a predominantly anti-Chinese feeling in the
US
legislature and common public? Growing economic interests between the two countries, South East Asian Currency crisis and the tensed security scenario in the South Asian subcontinent and the Korean peninsula seem to have been some of the reasons for the Sino-US rapprochement.
Even before Mr. Clinton landed on Chinese soil, there were great expectations on both the sides. Both
China
and US had their own agenda, to be discussed during Mr. Clinton’s visit. The
US
interests were mainly based on the issues of trade, non-proliferation, human rights,
Taiwan
and
Tibet
, and the emerging security scenario both at the regional level and at the global level.
The primary objective of the
US
is to boost trade between
China
and US. The
US
trade with
China
has tripled in the last decade and
China
is willing to receive more Boeing aircrafts and American technology. Further the
US
has plans to exploit sectors such as banking, insurance etc once
China
starts opening its market. For
China
, increased trade with the
US
will give an additional leverage in its effort to enter into WTO, besides receiving the much-wanted American technology.
Secondly, the
US
wants to arrive at an agreement with
China
on the issue of ‘de-targeting’ nuclear missiles at each other’s major cities, besides making progress on the alleged transfer of technology and weapons, both nuclear and conventional.
Thirdly, the
US
expects
China
to advance its political and human rights as Mr. Clinton openly told " I will press ahead on human rights in
China
, with one goal in mind, making a difference."
With Mr. Clinton’s visit now over let us see how much Mr. Clinton was able to achieve. On the first issue the
US
signed seven contracts with
China
worth $2 billions, which include the sale of 27 Boeing air crafts, turbine power generators and two million tons of chemical fertilizers, thus making a major progress.
On the issue of non-proliferation,
Clinton
was able to achieve only an agreement that " they would no longer target nuclear weapons at each others country". Besides both the leaders issued a joint statement calling upon
India
and
Pakistan
to stop any further nuclear tests and to sign the CTBT "immediately and unconditionally".
China
is the major gainer over this issue as it was able to put away the American pressure over MTCR and also was able to get away with its assistance to
Pakistan
and
Iran
in terms of nuclear and conventional weapons and technology. On the other hand, Mr. Clinton, by not achieving anything significant over this issue, will have to face severe criticism both within and outside his country.
On the issue of Tibet, Clinton was able to convey only the message that Dalai Lama is a "honest man" and if the President of China had a conversation with Dalai Lama " they would like each other", besides agreeing to the Chinese point that Tibet is a Chinese territory. President Zemin scored a point over the issue of
Tibet
, that there would be talks with Dalai Lama only "if he acknowledges that
Tibet
is a part of
China
and at the same time acknowledge that
Taiwan
is a
province
of
China
".
In the equally sensitive issue of
Taiwan
,
China
expects the
US
to recognize only one legitimate Chinese government. Mr. Clinton reaffirmed the ‘One-China’ policy of the
US
while encouraging more direct talks with
Taipei
and
Beijing
. Thus on
Taiwan
and
Tibet
, Mr. Clinton did not achieve anything spectacular.
Finally even on the question of human rights, Mr. Clinton was able to achieve very little. All he could say over the issue of human rights is that "this is not
China
at its best" and the Tiananmen crackdown as "wrong".
China
replied firmly over the question of human rights and Tiananmen. President Zemin defended Tiananmen in terms of "political disturbances", whereas a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson in
Beijing
categorically replied that
China
is "opposed to any foreign country’s interference in
China
’s internal affairs by the excuse of human rights".
The
US
thus could achieve only its economic objective in the just concluded American President’s visit to
China
. Failing any positive assurance from the
US
over the issue of its entry into WTO,
China
did not lose anything. On the other hand the
US
has sent confused signals to
Japan
,
Korea
and APEC, through its sudden discovery of
China
as a strategic partner with special responsibility to the future of the world. Also the much-cherished ideals of the
US
such as democracy, human rights, non-proliferation etc. received a setback at the end of
Clinton
’s visit to
China
. The real gainer of Mr. Clinton’s
China
visit is not the
US
but
China
.
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