In fact, Washington’s interest goes well beyond geopolitics: 40,000 American expats in Hong Kong far outnumber their British counterparts, and U.S.-Hong Kong trade exceeds $24 billion a year. And Chinese pols, who have their own best interests in mind, have signaled that they get the message. ““Chinese leaders have decided they want to work with us,’’ said one senior administration official. President Jiang Zemin, in particular, has a big stake in improving the relationship. Still not fully in control of China in the wake of Deng Xiaoping’s death in February, Jiang wants to burnish his leadership credentials by meeting other foreign leaders, especially Bill Clinton. China-U.S. summits are slated for October in Washington and early next year in Beijing. Jiang wants the full red-carpet treatment; in exchange, Albright’s team wants progress on bilateral issues. The summits must be ““concrete,’’ she told Chinese Foreign Minister Qian Qichen last week.
To lay the groundwork, Albright and Qian talked about everything from Korea to law enforcement to nonproliferation. Albright also cited U.S. concerns about human rights and Beijing’s alleged diversion for military use of a Sun Microsystems supercomputer. The Chinese foreign minister denied the diversion charge, and he didn’t respond to Albright’s request for the release of jailed dissident Wei Jingsheng. But relative to past meetings, Qian was conciliatory. ““He could have given “none of your business’ answers,’’ said a U.S. participant in the meetings. Instead, Qian twice declared the Sino-U.S. relationship China’s highest international priority.
U.S. diplomats also sent a message to politicians in Hong Kong who want Washington to take an uncompromising line with Beijing. Democratic Party chief Martin Lee had complained that the United States had backed away from a plan to boycott the installation of the provisional legislature, the body that was appointed by a pro-Beijing committee to replace the elected legislature. Albright didn’t attend, but sent a working-level diplomat. Albright bluntly reminded Lee that Washington is his chief supporter. ““You have to know who your friends are,’’ she told him.
Still, the United States has to balance its friendships carefully. While the smooth Hong Kong handover and Congress’s extension of trade preferences for China buttress the administration’s engagement strategy toward Beijing, China’s designs on Taiwan could wreck it. Last week Taipei’s government again rejected China’s aphoristic formula for Hong Kong: ““One country, two systems.’’ If Beijing pushes too hard for reunification, Washington will have a ringside seat for the fireworks.
