Urgent US action needed to soothe Beijing and prevent collapse of ties
WILLY WO-LAP LAM
Sino-US ties could take a leap backwards
if Washington does not take substantial
action to mollify Beijing.
Senior cadres, including Politburo
Standing Committee members, who met
in emergency sessions on Saturday and
yesterday, have ordered an overall
assessment of relations.
A Beijing source said the "minimum
requirements" set forth by relatively
moderate cadres was that the US and
Nato authorities issue a full apology, pay
adequate compensation and allow China
a bigger role in the resolution of the
Balkans conflict.
However, the hawks, including PLA
generals, were pushing for more pressure
to be applied to the US - and overall
scaling down of relations - unless Nato
agreed to halt hostilities against
Yugoslavia.
The hardliners, one of whose leaders
was PLA Vice-Chief of Staff General
Xiong Guangkai, have held meetings in
which they insisted the embassy strike
was a pre-meditated attempt to trample
on Chinese sovereignty.
Pointing to Beijing's line that it reserved
the right to take "further action", the
generals indicated they would do their
best if that "action" contained a military
component.
The source said that while
Vice-President Hu Jintao had yesterday
warned against anti-US protests
deteriorating into lawlessness,
government-organised protests would
continue at least through this week.
In an effort at social mobilisation not
seen since the first months after the
Tiananmen Square crackdown, Beijing
has asked most official units and social
and "mass" organisations to hold
meetings to voice support for its tough
line on Kosovo.
One reason why the hardliners have the
upper hand is that drumming up
patriotism is seen by Beijing as a means
to divert attention from social problems,
such as unemployment.
The source said that if the Sino-US
quarrel over Kosovo remained
unresolved, a broad array of ties would
be affected. These included the talks on
China's accession to the World Trade
Organisation (WTO).
Members of the pro-WTO and pro-US
faction of the leadership were quick to
pre-empt criticism from hardliners that
they had "sold out" to US interests.
Foreign Trade Minister Shi Guangsheng,
already faulted for yielding too many
trade concessions to the US, was among
the first ministers to call a meeting of his
staff to denounce "US hegemonism and
power politics".
It is expected that Mr Shi and his boss,
Premier Zhu Rongji, will reverse some of
the concessions they granted to US trade
negotiators over the objections of many
ministries and regional administrations.
Isolated attacks on US businesses in
Guangzhou and other cities yesterday
showed anti-Americanism could affect
business.
Foreign diplomats said that even if
Washington and Nato were to meet some
of Beijing's demands, a pall would still be
cast over relations.
"Many cadres think Kosovo heralds a
new wave of 'neo-imperialism' which will
cut into Chinese interests sooner or
later," a Western diplomat said. "Beijing
cannot live with Nato's ideal that
humanitarianism is above national
boundaries."
A Beijing University expert said last night
Nato had become a "military machine"
that might one day use Tibet or Taiwan
to interfere in Chinese affairs.