[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 52 (Monday, April 22, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3798-S3801]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    CHINA: WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE

 Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, I recently delivered a speech 
to the World Affairs Council of Los Angeles. I took the opportunity to 
lay out some of the areas in which I believe the United States needs to 
improve its policy toward the People's Republic of China. I thought my 
colleagues would find this speech to be of interest. I ask that the 
full text of the speech be printed in the Record.
  The speech follows:

                    China: Where Do We Go From Here?

  (Remarks of U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein to World Affairs Council, 
                            April 11, 1996)

       It is a great pleasure to be in the City of Los Angeles. 
     And it is my honor to be introduced by such a distinguished 
     resident of this great city.
       I'm delighted to be at the World Affairs Council, I've had 
     the privilege of speaking at the World Affairs Council in San 
     Francisco on several occasions, but never in this major 
     capital city, so I'm delighted to be here.
       I want to share with you today some candid thoughts that I 
     have about what I believe to be one of the most important 
     issues for peace and stability in the world today: The

[[Page S3799]]

     current crisis in negotiations on Sino-American relations, 
     and to discuss for a moment how we can forge a new, and 
     better, era in this important relationship.
       One hundred years from now, I have no doubt that when 
     historians look back, the remarkable rise of China as a world 
     power will be considered one of the most important 
     international events of the latter half of the twentieth 
     century.
       More than the tragic war in Bosnia, more than the unsteady 
     march toward peace in the Middle East, more even than the 
     collapse of the Soviet Union, China's ascendence as a great 
     power--and the content and quality of U.S.-Chinese 
     relations--will shape the direction of global history in the 
     Pacific Century.
       Following what the Chinese view as a ``century of 
     humiliation'' at the hands of western imperial powers, and 
     fifty years of war-lord rivalries, revolution, and economic 
     stagnation, China today is poised at the brink of a 
     remarkable renaissance.
       For close to two decades the Chinese economy has grown by a 
     staggering 10% a year. China is now the world's 11th largest 
     exporter--that's where Japan was in 1980--and moving up fast. 
     By most estimates, by early in the next century China will 
     have the world's largest economy.
       In a little more than a decade, U.S. trade with China has 
     grown from some $1.2 billion to over $50 billion per year. 
     China has emerged as a major presence on the world stage.
       It is a shame that we do not have the benefit of the 
     hindsight that our children and grandchildren will have, 
     because I believe that most Americans--including many 
     policymakers--do not understand the magnitude or breadth of 
     the changes currently underway in China and what they mean 
     for the future peace and stability of Asia and, yes, the 
     world.


                          U.S. Policy Missteps

       This fundamental lack of understanding is unfortunate--and 
     could turn out to be tragic--because how we manage our 
     relationship with China will have a greater effect on 
     stability in Asia and peace in the world than nearly anything 
     else we do.
       In recent months U.S.-China relations have reached perhaps 
     their lowest level since President Nixon's historic trip to 
     China in 1972. Our relationship is plagued by tensions in 
     nearly every area in which we interact: a large trade 
     imbalance; China's failure to curb pirating of U.S. 
     intellectual property; China's transfers of sensitive 
     weapons, nuclear materials and technology to Pakistan, Iran, 
     and others; clashing visions of human rights; most 
     importantly, U.S. concerns about Taiwan, Hong Kong, and 
     Tibet, these are perceived as deep threats to Chinese 
     sovereignty.
       This situation is made even more complicated by domestic 
     politics in both countries.
       In the U.S., the relationship between China and the U.S. 
     has been buffeted by the vicissitudes of a Presidential 
     election year and provocative Congressional actions. For 
     example, the recent Department of State Authorization 
     Conference Bill contains ill-advised policy mandates, 
     including an invitation for a 1996 visit by Lee Teng-hui to 
     the U.S. ``with all appropriate courtesies,'' and an 
     elevation of the Taiwan office in Washington.
       In China, the lingering of Deng Xiaoping has prevented, in 
     a sense, the cementing of new leadership, resulting in 
     jockeying and in-fighting among China's political hierarchy. 
     It is difficult for any Chinese leader to take bold action to 
     improve relations with the United States for fear of being 
     accused of weakness.
       Fundamental to the worsening of relations between our two 
     countries is the lack of any conceptual framework or long-
     term strategy on the part of the U.S. policy with respect to 
     China--a strategy which sets specific goals for the 
     relationship five and ten years down the road.
       Instead, U.S. policy has been reactive and ``event-
     driven,'' responding to whatever happens to be the current 
     revelation, which generally concerns human rights. This calls 
     into question our entire relationship with China each time we 
     lurch from crisis to crisis.
       A whole host of events have contributed to the current 
     downward spiral in our relations: Tiananmen Square, the sale 
     of F-16's to Taiwan, Congressional opposition to China's bid 
     for the Olympics, U.S. opposition to the construction of 
     Three Gorges Dam project, and Taiwan President Lee Teng-hui's 
     visit to the United States last year.
       Each of these events has helped create the current 
     atmosphere. Let me say a few words about why these events 
     were so important.
       Americans were understandably horrified by the globally-
     televised scenes of Chinese tanks advancing on unarmed 
     civilians at Tiananmen Square in 1989. Unfortunately, those 
     images have come to color our perception of nearly every 
     aspect of the U.S. relationship with China. For most 
     Americans Tiananmen Square is all they know of the China of 
     today.
       In the wake of Tiananmen, the U.S. made a number of policy 
     decisions that further antagonized China. In 1992, for 
     example, President Bush, who understands China better than 
     most Americans, made what, I believe, was an unfortunate 
     decision to sell 150 F-16 aircraft to Taiwan.
       The sale, announced during an election campaign, was made 
     without strong evidence that Taiwan faced a significantly 
     enhanced threat from China that made these advanced military 
     planes necessary. For China, the sale was a violation of the 
     ``One China'' policy which has been the bedrock of Sino-
     American relations since 1972.
       China put forth an extensive effort to host the Summer 
     Olympic games in 2000: they built a large stadium, apartments 
     and several other facilities, and made a strong pitch to the 
     International Olympic Committee. This was going to be China's 
     introduction to the world--a moment of great national pride.
       But, the U.S. reaction was distinctly negative. The House 
     of Representatives passed a resolution urging the IOC not to 
     give the games to Beijing and a majority of U.S. Senators 
     sent a letter urging denial to the IOC. The IOC decided, by 
     one vote, to give the games to Sydney, Australia, and, again, 
     China felt the sting of humiliation.
       Another American effort to thwart Chinese development, from 
     China's perspective, has been our reaction to the Three 
     Gorges Dam project. This massive undertaking, designed to 
     generate power for the enormous Chinese market, is considered 
     a critical step in China's economic development program.
       Anyone that has been to Beijing has seen the choking clouds 
     of high sulfur coal dust and lacking sufficient power for the 
     basic necessities of life for millions of its people, the 
     Three Gorges Dam represents an important national priority 
     for the Chinese. But the United States has criticized the 
     project, on environmental grounds and last year the 
     Administration indicated it would oppose multilateral and 
     U.S. financing of Three Gorges.
       The current crisis in U.S.-China relations came to a head 
     last year with the U.S. decision to allow Taiwanese President 
     Lee Teng-hui to visit the United States last summer to 
     receive an honorary degree at Cornell University.
       The Administration had told the Chinese--as late as May of 
     last year--that allowing the visit would be inconsistent with 
     the United States' longstanding ``One China'' policy. 
     Congress then voted overwhelmingly--myself included--to allow 
     this ``private'' visit, and the Administration changed its 
     policy about the visa.
       The Chinese President, Jiang Zemin, learned of the decision 
     by reading it in the newspaper, as he told me when I visited 
     him in August. You can imagine what the impact was.
       President Lee's visit, although billed as a private visit, 
     turned out to be much more than that. Members of the Senate 
     met him, he spoke at Cornell and spoke about opportunity for 
     representation in the United Nations. Again generating a deep 
     visceral reaction within the Chinese leadership, not only 
     within the leadership, and this is what Americans must come 
     to understand, but within the Chinese people itself. And this 
     gave rise to a new wave of nationalism among its people. The 
     Chinese showed their anger by overreaction-- engaging in 
     missile tests and live ammunition war games in the Taiwan 
     Straits just prior to the Taiwanese elections.
       These provocative and unneccessary actions prompted 
     President Clinton to place two carrier groups in the 
     immediate area, sending a clear message that the U.S. would 
     not tolerate military action against Taiwan.
       It is clear that none of us fully understood the depth to 
     which Taiwan presents a deep and fundamental sovereign 
     imperative to China. We must understand this if we are to 
     deal directly with China.
       These events, occurring against a background of little 
     dialogue between our two nations and constant criticisms in 
     the American press, added to the strain and distance.
       The Chinese, for their part, have contributed to the 
     downward spiral in our relations by failing to carry out 
     commitments made. For example, China's failure to carry out 
     last year's Intellectual Property Rights agreement signed 
     last May has cost American copyright-holders over $2 billion 
     in 1995, and less than full compliance with nuclear Non-
     Proliferation and violations of missile reduction treaties 
     are areas which have drawn considerable and legitimate U.S. 
     concern.


                       The Costs of U.S. Missteps

       The consequence of this confused and reactive relationship 
     is that --precisely at the time when we should be doing 
     everything we can to strengthen and encourage reform in China 
     by increasing relations with the West--some in China believe 
     that the U.S. is intentionally encouraging China's increasing 
     hardline attitudes with the purpose of pushing China toward 
     an adversarial posture reminiscent of Cold War years with the 
     Soviet Union.
       As you know, a long, drawn-out leadership struggle has been 
     going on in China for the past several years as the elderly 
     Deng Xiaoping has disappeared from public life. Although a 
     new leadership is in place, competitive forces within that 
     leadership appear to be growing stronger. Hardline actions 
     are more prevalent.
       For example,
       China's provocative war games in the Taiwan Straits leading 
     up to the Taiwanese election.
       China's continued provision of sensitive nuclear and 
     missile technology to Pakistan.
       The increasingly strong rhetoric toward Hong Kong, such as 
     announcing that the elected Legislative Council will be 
     dissolved and that Hong Kong civil servants will be required 
     to take an oath of loyalty to Beijing.
       And just last week, when Chinese police tried to stop 
     fundraising for Chinese orphanages at a dinner attended by 
     U.S. Ambassador James Sasser and prevented Chinese-American 
     author Amy Tan from delivering a speech.

[[Page S3800]]

       Additionally, U.S. policy has not enabled those within the 
     Chinese leadership who favor greater cooperation with the 
     West to advance their program. In my conversations with 
     President Jiang Zemin and Executive Vice Premier Zhu Rongji, 
     I have become convinced of their genuine desire to reach out 
     to the United States and build a much more cooperative 
     relationship. In fact, Deng Xiaoping himself, empowered Jiang 
     Zemin to be in charge of American relations and this was 
     ratified by the 14th People's Congress.
       But to do that, they need our help. They need to be able to 
     engage in a genuine dialogue with U.S. leaders, at the very 
     highest levels. Our President and the President of China need 
     to be able to sit and talk face-to-face, and to pick up the 
     phone and call one another on a regular basis. But they do 
     not yet have that kind of relationship.
       When the Administration decided not to invite President 
     Jiang Zemin to Washington for a state visit, I believe we 
     lost a valuable opportunity to give ``face'' and support to a 
     moderate, pro-Western leader, thereby enabling the Chinese to 
     see greater value in increased ties and pro-Western views.


                       Most-Favored Nation Status

       In approximately two months, Congress will consider whether 
     to grant the President's request to renew China's Most-
     Favored Nation trading status. I believe this issue will 
     spark a definitive debate in the Congress on the future of 
     the United States' China policy.
       The political implications of revoking MFN for China are 
     great, and dangerous. Revoking MFN would be seen, I believe, 
     as a complete break in U.S.-Chinese cooperation.
       For a country such as China, where face and respect are 
     such central issues, revoking MFN--a trading status the U.S. 
     grants to all but a handful of rogue nations--would be seen 
     as tantamount to the United States telling China that we no 
     longer accept them as a member of the family of nations. More 
     importantly, thousands of businesses and millions of jobs in 
     this country and in China who are now dependent on MFN status 
     would be lost. To deny it would be shooting ourselves in the 
     foot. Also, our ability to work with the Chinese on other 
     trade issues, on Asian security, on non-proliferation, on 
     Taiwan, and on human rights would be severely diminished, if 
     not incapacitated.


                       Where Do We Go From Here?

       Many of you may be wondering if there is anything we can do 
     to repair a relationship that many feel has already been 
     irreparably harmed. As a Chinese proverb goes, ``Laughter 
     cannot bring back what anger has driven away.'' But there is 
     another Chinese proverb that is perhaps more relevant--``By 
     hard work one can succeed in moving two mountains to open a 
     road.''
       First, we must elevate the importance of the relationship 
     with China. President Clinton, Secretary Christopher and high 
     officials must become much more directly involved. With 
     China, in many cases, the messenger is as important as the 
     message.
       Most Americans know little of China and less about the 
     importance of this relationship. The President must speak to 
     Americans directly of the importance of this relationship and 
     make the case for an improved relationship to the American 
     people. He has not done so thus far. It must be done.
       Secondly, Secretary Christopher who has visited China only 
     once, must devote to this relationship the same time and 
     energy as he has so effectively applied in the Middle East.
       Third, we must realize that despite recent tensions, China 
     and the United States have many more common interests than is 
     generally realized, and we must build on those common 
     interests.
       Four areas in which our shared interests outweigh our 
     differences include: Taiwan, trade, security and nuclear non-
     proliferation, and improving the quality of life for people.
       Taiwan: The role of the United States in constructing a 
     relationship between China and Taiwan must, by necessity, be 
     supportive. We should not attempt to impose a solution on 
     either party. The United States can, however, provide the 
     underlying stability for Chinese-Taiwanese cooperation by 
     continually and publicly reaffirming our commitment to a 
     ``One China'' policy.
       We must also continue to encourage China to refrain from 
     aggressive military actions and rhetoric. The key to a 
     solution remains peaceful reunification. How and when that 
     takes place is up to the two parties involved. Our interest 
     must be to see that peace is maintained, to encourage the two 
     sides to talk, to be an honest broker.
       Both Taiwan and China should be encouraged to restart the 
     Cross-Strait Initiative that was conducted by China's 
     Association for Relations across the Taiwan Strait and 
     Taiwan's Strait Exchange Foundation. This dialogue showed 
     much promise until it was derailed last summer. Even at the 
     nadir of relations earlier this year, Chinese Prime Minister 
     Li Peng renewed President Jiang Zemin's offer from last year 
     for a Taiwan-China summit. And the Chinese offer to begin 
     direct air, sea, and postal service with Taiwan can only be 
     beneficial.
       Trade: Trade issues have all too often become flashpoints 
     in U.S.-China relations, with blame to be shared by both 
     sides.
       This past January, while I was in Beijing, Executive Vice 
     Premier Zhu Rongji, who is in charge of Central Economic 
     Planning, told us that, effective this month, China will 
     lower tariffs by 34% across the board and bring its tariff 
     rate schedule in line with the average of developing 
     countries within two years.
       Our Trade Representative, Mickey Kantor, told me that he is 
     now reviewing this proposed schedule. The U.S. should work 
     with China to increase U.S. exports to China, now growing at 
     a rate of 17% per year. China states it wants to increase 
     U.S. exports, and this would lower our trade deficit with 
     China. The U.S. should also review provisions of our laws 
     which restrict high value exports.
       At the same time, the United States should continue to 
     insist that China live up to fair trade policies, in 
     particular, its agreements to protect U.S. intellectual 
     property rights. For example China must prevent the illegal 
     production of pirated CDS, CD-ROMs, and Lds.
       The best way to accomplish this goal is the development of 
     joint ventures between U.S. copyright holders and Chinese 
     manufacturers, which could transform factories from illegal 
     to legal operations with little job cost. In January, I 
     presented to both the President, the Executive Vice Premier 
     and to the Trade Minister, a letter from the Recording 
     Industries of America containing a proposal that six major 
     American copyright holders are prepared to enter into such 
     joint agreements.
       As I left China and was in Hong Kong, I noted that a 
     Chinese representative said, ``but we already have these 
     joint ventures.'' And that is exactly the key, the joint 
     ventures are not with the copyright holders, and in order to 
     carry out the intent of the law the venture must be with the 
     U.S. copyright holder.
       As the world's 11th largest exporter and moving up fast, 
     China's entry into the World Trade Organization is strongly 
     in the United States' interests and holds the best promise 
     for preventing trade disputes from escalating into major 
     conflicts. Although it will take time, we need to continue to 
     work with China to help them develop the commercial legal 
     structure and fair trade policies that are necessary for 
     their membership in that organization.
       Security: It is vital that China be engaged in a new 
     security partnership, one that is cooperative rather than 
     confrontational. With more than a fifth of the world's 
     population, a permanent seat on the United Nations Security 
     Council, and an arsenal of nuclear weapons and 
     intercontinental ballistic missiles, isolating China is a 
     very dangerous course.
       Such a partnership suggests that China be encouraged to 
     become an active and responsible party to international 
     organizations, treaties, and regimes. As such, China should 
     be granted an equal say in setting the ``rules of the game.'' 
     The corollary of this, of course, is that China must agree to 
     abide by those rules.
       One area that immediately suggests itself as a testing 
     ground for this type of partnership is the threat of nuclear 
     proliferation in South Asia. China was helpful in preventing 
     nuclear proliferation in North Korea, a situation that still 
     remains problematic.
       It is also clearly in the interests of both China and the 
     United States to ensure that tensions are de-escalated in the 
     highly unstable India-Pakistan relationship. Both India and 
     Pakistan have the ability to launch 10 to 20 kiloton nuclear 
     devices, that is twice the size of Hiroshima, in a matter of 
     weeks. Both countries are on China's Southern border, and 
     both suffer from major internal instability. Acting alongside 
     other local and regional powers, the United States and China 
     must work together to de-escalate growing tensions between 
     these two countries.
       Quality of Life: Finally, despite the bad press that China 
     has received in this country of late regarding human rights, 
     I believe that here too there is opportunity for progress. 
     However, to believe that China will change its ways merely to 
     please America is naive. The real key to change is convincing 
     China that it is in China's interests to change.
       We have tried lecturing China on individual human rights 
     cases, and have found that method to be unsuccessful. A more 
     productive approach would be to work with China to develop an 
     independent judicial system that can guarantee due process 
     and the rule of law--an area in which China has asked for our 
     help.
       By engaging China in a larger dialogue about good 
     governance, through exchange programs, assistance in the 
     drafting of criminal and commercial codes, and in 
     establishing an independent judiciary with due process of 
     law, we will do much more to advance the cause of human 
     rights in China in the long run than through constant 
     castigation.
       Even without our help, China is moving in this direction. 
     Last month, the National People's Congress enacted 
     legislation that provides individuals greater protection from 
     arbitrary punishment by police and government agencies, which 
     sets stricter standards on government agencies for imposing 
     fines and fees, and which requires the ruling State Council 
     to secure the approval of the People's Congress before 
     declaring martial law.
       Evidence of the past twenty years suggests that China is 
     changing. You must remember back to the 1960's, when 10-15 
     million people were harmed or lost their lives. When I first 
     went to China in 1979, it was impossible to have an open 
     political discussion. People were simply too afraid.
       Last month, international journalists openly interviewed 
     ordinary Chinese citizens

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     on the street about their views of the Taiwanese elections. 
     Some supported the government's response, others did not. 
     This change should not be underestimated. It is the 
     unavoidable result of improving conditions and interaction 
     with the West.
       One has but to look back at the Cultural Revolution of 35 
     years ago to see the contrast and improvement in freedoms, in 
     the increasing standard of living, wages and savings, and 
     better education of the people, to know that things are 
     changing and improving. As Minister of Trade Wu Yi said to 
     me, ``It isn't easy to go from a China which has been ruled 
     by man for 5000 years to a China ruled by law.'' And that is 
     what is happening.
       With the Taiwan elections behind us, we now have the 
     opportunity to move past some of the events that soured Sino-
     American relations earlier this year.
       To do this, President Clinton must immerse himself fully in 
     the details of this most delicate and critical of American 
     relations. In the final analysis, the goal of American policy 
     must be to encourage China toward a full and active 
     relationship with the West and to work together toward a 
     China that is able to take its role as a stable leader of 
     peace and security in Asia, and an America that can be her 
     ally.

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