China plays down friction with US over Taiwan

 


Author:     REUTERS [ THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2002 6:28:05 PM ]

  BEIJING: China played down sensitive differences with the United 
States over Taiwan on Thursday, with President Jiang Zemin 
holding his tongue over US commitments to arm the 
diplomatically-isolated island.

  Jiang portrayed talks with US President George W. Bush on the 
issue as low-key, telling reporters both sides had "expressed 
opposition to 'Taiwan independence' and the hope of solving the 
Taiwan question peacefully".

  Jiang's subdued tone, despite US pledges to press on with arms 
sales to Taipei and a "defence summit" with Taiwan officials 
next month, underlined his desire to avoid disputes with 
Washington ahead of a leadership handover this autumn.

  Jiang said Bush had restated Washington's long-standing 
commitment to Beijing's "one China" policy, which states that 
Taiwan and the mainland belong to a single country.

  But in a clear signal of continued support for Taiwan, Bush said 
he would honour a pledge to help arm the island China has 
regarded as a rebel province since a 1949 civil war split.

  "The position of my government has not changed over the years. 
We believe in peaceful settlement of this issue," Bush told a 
news conference after talks with Jiang on the first day of his 
visit.

  "We will urge there be no provocation. The United States will 
continue to support the Taiwan Relations Act," he said.

  The United States passed the Taiwan Relations Act in the same 
year as it switched diplomatic relations from Taipei to Beijing 
in 1979, reaffirming its commitment to Taiwan and pledging to 
maintain arms sales to the island.

  
Taiwan relieved

  Chinese analysts who advise and comment on policy also played 
down tensions between China and the United States over Taiwan -- 
which Beijing always says is the most sensitive issue in their 
bilateral relationship.

  "The Taiwan problem is an old problem and is still there," said 
Jin Canrong, a top researcher at the prestigious China Academy 
of Social Sciences.

  "But with China and America widening their scope of cooperation 
the priority of the Taiwan problem in bilateral relations will 
be lowered."

  Bush's statement will come as a relief to Taiwan, which has been 
watching his two-day visit closely fearing Washington may give 
something new away to China in return for Beijing's support for 
the US-led war on terrorism, analysts said.

  The democratic island run by President Chen Shui-bian of the 
pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party relies on the 
United States as its main arms supplier and trading partner.

  
Bush stands firm

  Washington angered Beijing last year by offering Taiwan the 
biggest arms package in a decade -- including submarines for the 
first time -- and saying Washington would do "whatever it takes" 
to protect the island.

  China had demanded that Washington end arms sales to Taiwan and 
step back from explicit statements of support for the island, 
which Beijing has threatened to attack if it declares 
independence or delays reunification talks indefinitely.

  
But Bush has stood firm during his Asian tour.

  Speaking to Japan's Diet, or parliament, before heading to 
Seoul, Bush reassured Taiwan by saying: "America will remember 
our commitments to the people on Taiwan."

  In another controversial move, the US Defence Department said on 
Wednesday it would take part in a closed-door conference next 
month that private organisers call a "defence summit" with 
Taiwan, an event which would typically anger China.



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