June 18, 1999	atimes.com

China Damage-control mission unlikely to mend Sino-U.S. ties By Antoaneta Bezlova BR> BEIJING - Washington's much anticipated explanation of why the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) bombed the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade during the air assault in Yugoslavia is unlikely to patch up troubled U.S.-China relations. BR> Washington's official explanation for the bombing of May 7, which killed three Chinese journalists, is being delivered by U.S. special envoy Thomas Pickering, who arrived here Tuesday night. BR> But his delicate visit comes at a time when Chinese foreign experts are convinced that, whatever happens in the world, the U.S. and its allies are really maneuvering with the ultimate goal of containing China's growth. BR> Therefore U.S. Undersecretary of State Pickering will have a difficult task convincing Chinese leaders that the attack by a U.S. plane on the Chinese embassy building was a ''tragic mistake.'' BR> The Chinese government officially has refused to accept the theory of a ''mis-hit,'' due to the use of a wrong, old map of Belgrade. Few Chinese people believe this theory either.\ BR> The government has demanded a public apology from the U.S., a thorough investigation, publication of the results and severe punishment of those responsible. BR> ''It is impossible that the explanation will satisfy China's demands,'' said Zhang Zhongyun, a professor of international politics at the Central Party School. BR> ''If they say it was intentional, the true story will be top secret and the U.S. can't divulge it. So it will, instead, find an excuse to foist off on us. If they say it was a mistake, they should punish the person responsible,'' he added. BR> Whether Washington delivers on Beijing's demands for investigation, public disclosure and punishment is seen by some scholars as a test of its sincerity. BR> ''If the U.S. comes up with a reasonable explanation, it is not impossible for the Chinese people to accept it is a mistake,'' argued Gao Heng of the World Economic and Political Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. BR> ''But the U.S. should not think that just because China is a poor country and wants to enter the World Trade Organization, China will make concessions on political issues. If our sovereignty is infringed upon, it is impossible for us to do business,'' he added. BR> The same message is being spread by the state propaganda machine. BR> A recent editorial in the Communist Party flagship paper, People's Daily, said Beijing will never allow any foreign country to infringe on China's sovereignty. BR> ''We must both oppose hegemonism and develop relations with the United States,'' the article declared. ''We cannot give up developing relations in order to oppose hegemonism. Nor can we give up our opposition to hegemonism because we are developing relations.'' BR> Sino-U.S. relations plunged dangerously in the wake of NATO's bombing of the embassy on May 7. But even before the incident, several matters had chilled the vaunted ''strategic partnership'' between the two countries sought by U.S. President Bill Clinton and Chinese President Jiang Zemin. BR> Clinton's policy of ''engagement'' with China has suffered major setbacks because of allegations that Beijing stole U.S. nuclear secrets and tried to buy political influence in Washington. BR> The images of angry crowds stoning the U.S. embassy in Beijing as a protest against the NATO bombing only fanned the flames of anti- Chinese sentiment in the Congress. BR> For its part, Beijing has reacted angrily to the bombing by cutting off all bilateral talks on military issues, human rights and nuclear proliferation. It has also put on hold talks on entering the WTO, which the Communist government has been seeking for more than a decade. BR> Chinese foreign experts argue NATO's mission in Kosovo is a prelude to its expansion in Asia. They believe that the U.S., terrified of China's growth as a world power and its potential expansion eastwards, is trying to pull the country apart and throw it into chaos. BR> ''In fact the United States is very likely to start bringing Asian countries into NATO after the Kosovo crisis is solved,'' wrote Wei Minfu in the research journal Strategy and Management. ''Such Asian countries could form a lesser NATO to co-operate with the greater NATO in Europe.'' BR> Beijing has insisted that only a public apology complete with thorough investigation and punishment of those responsible for the bombing could repair the damage to Chinese-U.S. relations and appease public anger. But few believe it will happen. BR> On the day Pickering stepped on Chinese ground, the state- sanctioned media mounted a vigorous anti-American rhetoric, calling on Chinese people to build up a ''Great Wall of national defense.'' BR> No domestic media reported on the arrival of Pickering and his mission. Instead, People's Daily and Guangming Daily ran long articles analyzing the lessons China should draw from the Kosovo crisis. BR> ''American people have a very weak psyche and cannot endure the hardships of a ground war,'' said Quan An, a military expert, in an interview with Guangming Daily. ''That is why if a poor developing country has to confront the U.S. militarily, it should strengthen its anti-aircraft defenses.'' BR> (Inter Press Service)

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