Why is a staunch communist like Li quoting from the Christian holy book? Chinese authorities believe that President George W. Bush, due to visit China on Feb. 21 and 22, has a bit of an obsession with Bibles. When the American crew of a downed EP-3 reconnaissance plane was detained in China in April, Bush worried about whether the detained American personnel had access to Scripture. And this month the U.S. Embassy protested the three-year prison sentence given to a Chinese Christian for smuggling Bibles. So if it takes a few Biblical quotes to make nice, so be it. “It’s part of Beijing’s charm offensive,” said James Lilley, former U.S. ambassador to Beijing. “The hectoring and lecturing are gone. Relations are on an upswing.”
Only 10 months ago, Beijing’s leaders were denouncing the American “bully.” Tensions ran especially high after a Chinese jet clipped the EP-3 over Hainan Island. So what has changed? September 11–and the American military response–must have had a sobering effect. Jiang Zemin was one of the first foreign lead-ers to phone Bush offering condolences. And Bush has reached out to Jiang, initiating phone calls to the Chinese leader on at least four occasions since 9-11. One call came right before Washington announced that it was abrogating its antiballistic-missile treaty with Russia. China was not happy with the decision, but Jiang was pleased, at least, that Bush conferred with him. “Some Americans used to say China was their enemy,” says a senior Chinese Foreign Ministry official. “But now they know… the real enemy is terrorism.”
Beijing and Washington have resumed intelligence cooperation on a scale not seen since they joined hands against the Soviets during the cold war, sources close to the administration tell NEWSWEEK. After September 11, Chinese authorities moved two of their secret electronic “listening posts” from the coast near Taiwan to the northwestern China-Afghan border region, ostensibly to share the resulting intelligence with the United States, NEWSWEEK has learned. The stations are designed to intercept microwave and radio communications, and could pick up Qaeda extremists chattering within range of the border area. (The facilities could also be used to conduct electronic surveillance on American aircraft dropping smart bombs over Afghanistan.)
Even before 9-11, Beijing was on a pro-Western course, winning its bid for the 2008 Olympics and fighting for acceptance in the WTO (which it finally joined in December). In both cases, China has to perform well and make good impressions to reap real benefits. If the Chinese leadership turns xenophobic now, an Olympic flop or a hemorrhage of foreign investment could cripple the economy and even threaten the regime. But it’s taking a different tack: China has embraced Afghan interim leader Hamid Karzai, for instance. One of Karzai’s first foreign trips was to Beijing.
None of the warming signs means that Sino-U.S. differences have melted away. In particular, China’s ambiguous stand on weapons proliferation–especially its export of sensitive technologies to countries such as Pakistan and Iran–has emerged as “a make-or-break issue” in bilateral relations, says U.S. Ambassador to China Clark Randt. One Sinologist likens the Sino-U.S. relationship to a stream flowing over large rocks. “The stones are fundamental disagreements, such as Taiwan, proliferation and human rights,” he says. “After September 11, the water level rose to cover the rocks. Eventually, the water will recede again.” And Biblical diplomacy alone cannot prevent that.
