May 13, 1999	atimes.com

China ANALYSIS: Beijing signals it shouldn't be ignored Inter Press Service BEIJING - China has shown public resistance to efforts to enlist its support for a Western-proposed settlement in Kosovo, even as criticism has mounted across Asia against what many increasingly see as a war with an unclear end. In a meeting Tuesday with Russia's special envoy for the Balkans, Viktor Chernomyrdin, Chinese President Jiang Zemin said Beijing would not consider the settlement proposed by the Group of Eight countries while the bombing of Yugoslavia continued. A foreign ministry spokesman said: ''The precondition [for talks] is an immediate halt to NATO air strikes, otherwise there's nothing to be discussed." German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder is also headed for Beijing, on a visit that was originally to be about trade and economic issues but will undoubtedly now focus on Yugoslavia. Jiang's response to Chernomyrdin, coming three days after the bungled bombing by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) of China's embassy building in Belgrade, leaves Russia empty-handed so far in efforts to broker a solution in the Yugoslavia conflict. But China's message is also that, much like Russia at the start of the crisis, Beijing is not to be be ignored or pushed around. Right now, the support of China - a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council - for any move for a settlement in Yugoslavia is crucial to getting a UN resolution embracing the G-8 proposal, which provides for a UN force in Kosovo, a pullout of Yugoslav troops and the return of ethnic Albanian refugees. That China should not be kept out of the loop could also well be the message behind the conditions it spelled out Monday to help repair relations with the U.S. and the west. These include an open, official and formal apology by Washington to the Chinese government, the Chinese people and relatives of those who died in the Belgrade attack, Chinese Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan said. U.S. President Bill Clinton has already apologized twice for the attack, and his televised remarks have been aired here. Likewise, Tang said, NATO should carry out a complete probe of the attack - which NATO says was a mistake based on an outdated map - and should both publicize its results and ''severely punish'' those responsible for it. In the view of many analysts here, China is actually leaving room for negotiation - but only after the U.S. and the west get the message. China also sees itself as standing on high ground, especially with many countries, including those in Asia, disturbed by the mistaken missile attack on the Chinese embassy and wondering about the goals of a war that has gone for nearly months now. ''The effect of each misplaced bomb has been a ratcheting up of the intensity of protests against the alliance's strategy,'' the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post said in an editorial. While Asian countries deplore the abuses of Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic - ''the Pol Pot of Eastern Europe'' - they, like many others in the world, are also viewing the U.S. as ''engaging in a war without risks of its own,'' the Bangkok-based daily The Nation said Tuesday. Here in the Chinese capital, local media kept up the anger against the missile attack the China Daily called a ''war crime'' against the country. But protests in Beijing, marked by rock-throwing at the American and British embassies, quieted down by Tuesday after officials began worrying about the difficulty of controlling the angry groups. Many were venting their anger against the U.S., but others were also furious at what they felt was Beijing's weak response. ''It is hegemony and the U.S. has dared to attack China, so China should respond,'' said Xiao Lu, a post-graduate student at Beijing University. ''China is playing a good game,'' remarked Zhang Fu, a post- graduate student from People's University. On the one hand, he said, the government has gathered some support from the public on the eve of the 10th anniversary of the Tiananmen massacre of June 4, 1989. On the other, it has rallied much support from developing countries in the wake of the NATO attack. ''By showing this reaction, China has shown a trump card to advocate against those countries that have been pressing China in the field of human rights,'' Zhang added. Indeed, many are saying the bungled NATO raid could well be a tool for China to further its interests in areas where officials feel they have gotten short shrift. So far, Beijing has severed official contact with the U.S. on human rights, arms control and nuclear proliferation. But analysts also say that while the risk of damage to U.S.-China ties exists, a good number of Chinese leaders believe the country's interests lie in stable ties with the U.S. and the west. Beyond the NATO attack, some say China might be hoping for an easier time in its efforts finally to get into the World Trade Organization. Thus China's conditions for a formal apology and other steps - which do not seem to be too difficult or impossible to meet - are seen as a ''middle path'' allowing for a satisfactory solution for all sides, as a political analyst here, who declined to be named, said.

Front | China | Southeast Asia | Japan | Koreas | India/Pakistan | Central Asia/Russia | Oceania Business Briefs | Global Economy | Asian Crisis | Media/IT | Editorials | Letters | Search/Archive Cheap Vacation Packages to San Diego California

back to the top ©1999 Asia Times Online Co., Ltd.

China Chinese Sex News | Asian Sex Gazette