The China Summit: Did the Summit Matter?

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Tourist-in-chief Bill Clinton hit five Chinese cities in nine days and obviously had a wonderful time. He put in a bit of work, debating issues with President Jiang Zemin, delivering a major speech, engaging in wonky chatfests with "ordinary" Chinese citizens, and he seemed to enjoy those too. Much of the time, though, Clinton and his family were touring, gazing at the fabulous terra-cotta army of Xian, the Great Wall, the neon-lit Shanghai Bund at night, the ethereal karst mountains of Guilin and the towering tangle of Hong Kong's skyscrapers. It was a lot more fun than hanging around Washington not answering questions about Monica Lewinsky. As White House spokesman Michael McCurry put it, referring to last week's grand jury headliner, Linda Tripp: "The President has been concentrating on one trip, and it's China, not Linda."

This journey around the summit represented a huge investment of time and attention: 11 days (counting travel time) out of the President's jammed schedule, participation of several Cabinet Secretaries, 225 staff members, hundreds of military and security personnel, all pursued by more than 400 journalists. So what did this multitude accomplish, and did it matter?

There were no dramatic breakthroughs, and it isn't easy to think of any that could have been expected. None of the big and explosive issues that divide China and the U.S., like human rights or Taiwan or the $50 billion trade imbalance in China's favor, were resolved. Jiang scored his major points as soon as Clinton stepped off Air Force One in Beijing, because he was the first U.S. President to come calling since the Tiananmen massacre of 1989. For his part, Clinton was trying to demonstrate that his policy choice--engagement--pays more dividends than confrontation. Clinton was jubilant that he was able to broadcast live on Chinese television and radio, and his aides argue this could signal the opening of a new era of freer debate in China. For both sides, then, symbolism was paramount, and they made the most of it.

Jiang is staking his leadership on building a strong relationship with the U.S. He insists the two countries should have good relations in spite of their differences, a neat trick to pull off when the disagreements are so deep. But Jiang has told Secretary of State Madeleine Albright that former leader Deng Xiaoping, just before he died, personally handed him the mandate to improve ties with the U.S. So Jiang wanted Clinton to have a successful summit. If he needed any reinforcement in that, he got it when National Security Adviser Sandy Berger flew to Beijing in early June. Berger explained to Jiang that a really boffo performance was called for now that the atmosphere in the U.S. had been poisoned by charges about illegal Chinese campaign contributions and leaking satellite secrets.

Even so, the trip began badly, overshadowed by China's denial of visas to reporters from Radio Free Asia and the sweeping up of dissidents in Xian. Then Clinton flew to Beijing and, for the world to see, reviewed a military honor guard in the infamous Tiananmen Square. That's when a grateful Jiang turned things around. An hour or so before he and Clinton were to begin their image-setting joint press conference, a Chinese official walked up to McCurry and asked to talk about the arrangements. It's important to get them right, he said, "because, as you know, the press conference will be telecast live."