[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 33, Number 17 (Monday, April 28, 1997)]
[Pages 580-581]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks Prior to Discussions With Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto of 
Japan and an Exchange With Reporters

April 25, 1997

    The President. Everybody in? Let me say it's a great honor for me to 
host my friend Prime Minister Hashimoto here at the White House. We had 
a nice visit last night, and he was here at the time the Chemical 
Weapons Convention passed, so we shared a moment of celebration. And we 
have a busy agenda today, and of course we'll have a press conference 
later and we'll do our best to answer your questions.
    But I think it's important to reaffirm that the relationship the 
United States has with Japan is unique and comprehensive and profoundly 
important to our future and to the stability and prosperity and peace of 
the world. And we intend to keep working on it and make it better.
    Mr. Prime Minister.
    Prime Minister Hashimoto. I find myself being a very lucky man. I 
was lucky enough to be invited by Bill last night, after arriving here 
in the evening, and I could share the greatest moment with Bill for the 
wonderful passage of the splendid Convention in the Senate. The fact 
that I was able to share that wonderful moment together with the 
President, itself, makes my trip to Washington worthwhile.
    I see all the familiar and very inquisitive faces in this room, so 
there will be many questions asked of me, but even with that fact, I'm 
very happy that I was able to share the moment with the President last 
night. And last night I was very appreciative of the kindness of Bill 
because he got Mickey Kantor on the phone without any fighting between 
us. [Laughter]
    The President. He tried to get him to switch sides, but he didn't do 
it. [Laughter]

China-Russia Relations

    Q. Mr. President, does the U.S. or Japan have any reason to be 
concerned about the treaty between China and Russia?
    The President. Well, my view is that the United States should have a 
partnership over the long run for stability in the Asia-Pacific region 
that includes our longstanding alliance with Japan and a positive 
relationship with both Russia and with China. And as long as any 
agreement they make is consistent with that kind of positive partnership 
and is not directed in any negative way toward their neighbors, I think 
that we don't have anything to worry about.
    Mr. Prime Minister?
    Prime Minister Hashimoto. I wonder if there's anything I could add 
to that wonderful statement. That was a splendid answer to the question, 
I believe. If I may add, I think that the summit between the President 
and President Yeltsin in Helsinki was a great contributor not just to 
the stability in Europe but also the stability for the entire world.
    I think the President gave a succinct answer describing the 
situation of the moment. It's very important that Russia and the 
European countries have a stable relationship. We are in the 
transitional period of great change. We are trying to engage, for 
example, China as a constructive partner in international society, and 
we're transforming the G-7 summit to the Summit of Eight. So in that 
context, I think the President gave an excellent answer to your 
question.
    Q. Thank you, Mr. President.
    The President. We'll answer the others later. We're going to have a 
press conference later.
    Q. ----Governor Weld as Ambassador to Mexico?
    The President. We're going to have a press conference later, and 
I'll answer all the questions. We have to work.

[At this point, one group of reporters left the room, and another group 
entered.]

[[Page 581]]

    Prime Minister Hashimoto. I guess we have to shake hands again. 
[Laughter]
    The President. Yes. Let me say very briefly, it's a great honor for 
me to have my friend Prime Minister Hashimoto here in the Oval Office. 
He made Hillary and me feel very welcome in Japan not so very long ago, 
and we're glad to have him back here.
    We just had his daughter and son-in-law and grandchild in here. We 
were playing with the baby, so we're a little late in getting our work 
started. And we had--but we had a very good visit last night, and he was 
here at the moment that the Chemical Weapons Convention passed the 
Senate, which was a happy coincidence for me and, I think, for him. And 
we have a lot of business to transact today, and I'm looking forward to 
this meeting and also to the press conference that we will have together 
after our meeting.
    Mr. Prime Minister.
    Prime Minister Hashimoto. [Inaudible]--when the Senate was just 
passing the Chemical Weapons Convention. We were able to share that joy. 
It was all the more pleasing for me to share that great moment with the 
President.
    I expressed my sympathies for the damage caused by the flooding in 
the State of North Dakota and Minnesota. Also, I expressed my gratitude 
to the--cooperation by the United States up to the solution of this 
incident in Peru. It was a wonderful moment between the two of us. And 
I'm sure that we will have very meaningful discussions in our meeting.

Trade with Japan

    Q. Mr. President, do you think Japan should go ahead with the 
additional food aid, putting aside----
    The President. We need to discuss that.
    Q. ----Prime Minister on trade and particularly the current account, 
trade surplus, sir?
    The President. Obviously, we don't want it to go back up. We've made 
some real progress. But we'll discuss that. We'll have a press 
conference later.

Note: The President spoke at 11:10 a.m. in the Oval Office at the White 
House. Prime Minister Hashimoto spoke in Japanese, and his remarks were 
translated by an interpreter. A tape was not available for verification 
of the content of these remarks.