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ASIA
FEBRUARY 22, 1999 VOL. 153 NO. 7
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Nonetheless, when Americans think of China these days, the themes are often bleak: its crackdowns on dissidents, its harsh and sometimes coercive enforcement of the one-child policy, its continued military posturing against Taiwan, its alleged snooping for information about high tech for its military and its efforts to influence U.S. elections with illegal campaign contributions. When Bill Clinton first ran for President, he repeatedly called George Bush soft on China. Now, of course, it is the Republicans who say that about Clinton. The danger in this moralistic condemnation of China is that we hurt ourselves while missing the opportunity to help China solve its problems.
My dinner with President Jiang began in a large, formal sitting area with obligatory tea and a brief photo op for the Chinese press. A few minutes later, we adjourned to a more private dining area, where, at his urging, we removed our jackets so we could better enjoy a nine-course dinner (including shark's fin soup, "Assorted Foods in Hot Pot," coconut juice and "Bird's Nest") and more serious drink. Jiang is warm and witty, and he has a wonderful voice that ranges--both in Chinese and in his near fluent English--from low and deep to high pitched and animated when he gets worked up over an idea or a joke. He is a good listener, leaning back in his chair with a cocked head, leaning forward to respond. His eyes were full of mirth throughout the evening.
His lifelong curiosity about the U.S. was also in evidence. When discussing the equality of mankind, he quoted parts of Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. He still remembers the English-language textbooks he used when studying to become an engineer. He recalled fondly his 1997 trip to the New York Stock Exchange, where he rang the opening bell. And, showing his mastery of my biography, chided me for not bringing my wife, author Nancy Friday, saying it would have been more interesting to discuss her subjects--envy, jealousy, relationships and sex--than mine--economics and geopolitics.
But beyond the banter, Jiang was ready to respond to America's complaints. He said he understood the value of a free press "so long as the media does not distort the facts." While professing close relations with President Clinton, he expressed frustration with the squabbling over China policy that divides much of Washington. He complained that America wants to sell China products it doesn't need while restricting sales of some things it wants to buy. "If you sell us high-technology products, we will pay you royalties," he said, but warned that if we refuse to sell such products to China, it will buy them elsewhere or build them itself. "The Chinese are very smart. On our own, we developed the hydrogen and atom bombs. If you refuse to sell us satellites and other new high-tech products, we may be able to develop them by ourselves. And then we won't have to purchase yours."
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