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ENGAGING CHINA
Is the Clinton administration's China policy the right policy? July 2, 1998 |
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Questions asked
in this forum:
How significant were President Clinton's comments on human rights? How much of an influence do you feel our president can have on Chinese leaders? What is the Clinton administration trying to achieve in China? Will engagement really bring forth changes in China? Has President Clinton made the most of his opportunity in China?
NewsHour Backgrounders
June 29, 1998:
President Clinton discusses Tiananmen Square in a televised speech.
June 26, 1998:
Former American diplomats discuss President Clinton's China visit.
June 25, 1998:
Professor Michel Oksenberg discusses China's heartland.
June 24, 1998:
Three Chinese dissidents discuss the U.S.-China Summit.
June 23, 1998:
The Newshour historians discuss President Clinton's visit to China.
June 15, 1998:
The House plans to investigate the alleged transfer of missile technology to China.
June 15, 1998:
An interview with Chinese Ambassador to the U.S., Li Zhaoxing.
April 27, 1998:
An interview with Chinese dissident Wang Dan.
December 10, 1997:
Chinese dissident Wei Jingsheng discusses the situation in China.
October 29, 1997:
A discussion of the meeting between Presidents Jiang and Clinton.
Browse the NewsHour's Asia Index
Outside Links
The White House.
Peoples Republic of China's embassy in Washington, D.C.
Human Rights Watch.
The U.S.-China Business Council.
P resident Clinton arrived in the ancient Chinese capital of Xian on June 25, the first stop in his nine-day trip to China. As discussed on the NewsHour, President Clinton plans to address the Chinese government on a wide array of issues, including nuclear non-proliferation, India-Pakistan tensions, the Asian economic crisis, the Korean conflict, human rights and trade relations.
It is the first visit by a U.S. president to China since the 1989 military crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators in Tiananmen Square. Although the Clinton administration's China policy has been criticized for giving priority to commercial ties at the cost of human rights, President Clinton contends greater cooperation with China is vital to building a more stable international order.
"China will choose its own destiny," President Clinton recently stated, "but we can influence that choice by making the right choice ourselves -- working with China where we can, dealing directly with our differences where we must."
The Clinton administration's China policy recently received the endorsement of some of the nation's foremost foreign policy experts, including former presidents Bush, Carter and Ford. Citing current problems in Asia, supporters of engagement argue it is now more important than ever to build better relations with China. Economists worried about the Asian economic crisis, and major companies seeking greater access to China's markets, also support greater cooperation with China.
But human rights is still an issue. Speaking before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Mike Jendrzejczyk of Human Rights Watch said, "[P]residential summits are not ordinary visits, and the administration has thus far failed to effectively use the enormous leverage this summit provides to press for significant – not merely token or cosmetic – human rights improvements."
Recently on the NewsHour,
three Chinese dissidents discussed the role human rights and democratic reforms should play in the U.S.-China Summit. Harry Wu, who spent 19 years in a Chinese prison, stated that President Clinton must "tell the Chinese very clearly we want to see an open, peaceful, prosperous China, but it's not communist China; it's a democracy and free China."
Is the policy of engagement the right policy? Is now the right time to visit China? What does the Clinton administration hope to achieve?
Answering your questions are Mike Jendrzejczyk of Human Rights Watch, Robert Kapp, president of the U.S.-China Business Council, and Professor Michel Oksenberg, senior fellow at the Asia Pacific Research Center at Stanford University and a former National Security Council staffer in the Carter administration
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