China Relations

China has been in the news a lot recently. With a population that makes up one-fifth of the total world's population and a rapidly growing economy, China is an key player in international affairs and an important trading partner for the U.S.

But the relationship between China and the U.S. is very complicated. Human rights, charges of spying and differences over international policy are just a few of the issues that keep them apart.

Since the Communist Revolution of 1949, China has become an interesting mix of communism and capitalism. Every year at this time, Congress debates the rules of trade with China. This year, Congress voted to continue business as usual, but the discussion was heated by several recent events that have strained our relationship.

Here are some stories that highlight the trouble spots:

• New tensions over the issue of Taiwan independence. In July, The president of Taiwan, Lee Tenghui, said that he wants Taiwan to deal with China on a special state-to-state basis. China views Taiwan as a breakaway province, not an independent state, and so those remarks angered the Chinese government. The sides split amid civil war in 1949, when non-Communist leaders escaped to the small island. China has always pushed for Taiwan's reunification with the mainland.
  
  
• Chinese President Jiang Zemin is cracking down on Falun Gong, a Buddhist exercise, meditation group. The government sees the group as an ideological threat to the Communist party.
  
  
• A recent report in Congress stated that China has stolen secrets about every nuclear weapon in the U.S. arsenal. China obtained missile and space technology from U.S. companies that improved its military operations.
  
  
• In May 1999, NATO and the U.S. accidentally bombed the Chinese embassy in Kosovo, killing three people. President Clinton apologized for the act, which provoked violent protests outside the U.S. embassy in the capital of China, Beijing.
  
  
• China's Prime Minister, Zhu Rongji, was in the United States in April. In a NewsHour interview, he discussed NATO action in Kosovo, charges of nuclear espionage, anti-China sentiments in the U.S. and human rights issues.