Use a Steady Hand, Not a Swift Kick

Is Beijing playing its Russian and European cards in an effort to ace the U.S. in the game of world diplomacy? Or is China deliberately sending the United States an even blunter message?

Last month, China inked a treaty with Russia and awarded a gigantic aircraft contract to a European manufacturer, to the distress of the competing U.S. bidders who had been expected to get it. In this and so many other respects, the Sino-U.S. relationship seems a major fright. To check whether Beijing’s official line on relations with America was in fact souring fast, I paid a courtesy call on its chief diplomatic representative here in California, Consul General Feng Shusen, who until just eight months ago was a top official of Yunnan province. I am happy to report that I found him hewing closely to the traditional official line, which favors cooperation with the United States. This was very good to hear. Washington and Beijing can only benefit from mature cooperation and can only hurt themselves otherwise.

I was seated in the reception room of the spacious consulate on Shatto Place in downtown Los Angeles. Gesticulating with little De Niro-type mannerisms and noting that his territory takes in Arizona, New Mexico, Hawaii and the Pacific Islands as well as Southern California, the consul general wanted to make this point early on: “We are such big countries--we need to develop stable relations and contribute to peace around the world.�

“This part of the United States is very very important,� he added. “Los Angeles is at the center of the Pacific Rim, near Asia and Latin America and, of course, China. China attaches great importance to relations [with this region].�

In sending Feng to Los Angeles, the foreign ministry in Beijing elevated this Communist Party careerist to ambassadorial rank. Feng, 58, struck me as highly informed and, with both a translator and a press aide at his side, at great pains to make sure that I was getting his official drift: “Some of our ups and downs are caused by an inadequate understanding of China in the U.S.,� he said. “Your business community knows more about China than most Americans. I have met with many people from that community--top executives, especially in finance and banking. They express a very strong desire to expand cooperation from a long-term perspective. Good relations will bring many economic and job opportunities. It’s good these people from the American business community travel a lot to China. They know the correct situation is not clearly reflected in the U.S. media.� Feng thinks U.S. coverage of China too often emphasizes the negative: “As we say in China, you only look at the black spot while ignoring the whole beautiful painting.�

Feng counsels honest self-reflection on his side as well as ours. “Of course, we should not say China never does anything wrong. This is the case in every country. For our part, we are ready to accept correct suggestions. The whole point since [the famous reforms of Deng Xiaoping, China’s now-ailing leader, were announced in] 1978 is to correct mistakes. We welcome constructive criticism. Your suggestion in your column that President Clinton should visit China is a very good suggestion. I believe all proponents who recommend this are sincerely interested in improving relations between the two countries.�

To be sure, Feng and Beijing were coming off a pretty good week. In a major speech Thursday, Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole announced, rather responsibly I thought, that he supported President Clinton on the need to extend Beijing’s most favored nation trade arrangements with the U.S. for another year. And Secretary of State Warren Christopher announced, wisely, that Washington, for various technical reasons, chose not to quarrel with Beijing’s contention that its transfer of $70,000 worth of ring magnets to Pakistan, incontestably usable by Islamabad for making a nuclear bomb, should not trigger sanctions.

But one week does not a fully repaired relationship make. Washington will announce Wednesday about $3 billion in prospective sanctions in yet another bitter dispute: Beijing’s suspiciously spotty record in enforcing previously negotiated intellectual-property laws at its mainland factories. Pirating undermines the U.S. export business in software, compact discs, CD-ROMs and videos; it hurts many California firms.

The bilateral problem isn’t all about money, of course. Many Americans have profound concerns about human rights in China. They also worry that Beijing will swallow up Hong Kong when it assumes control from the British and that it will continue to hover brutishly over Taiwan. But unless and until Feng gives up trying to make the case for peaceful, cooperative and adult Sino-American relations, I won’t either. We need each other far more than we realize, even as the Sino-U.S. relationship plods forward in a miserable tangled web of misunderstandings, missteps and potential mayhem. Yes, China is tough to love. But just as we wouldn’t allow ourselves to be bullied by them, I doubt they’ll react any better to public hectoring and muscling by us. So hunker down for a long march. And let’s watch Feng carefully. He’s as good a barometer as any to what Beijing is thinking.

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Tom Plate’s column runs Tuesdays. His e-mail address is <[email protected]>.