U.S. And China Move Forward
Leaders Meet After Months Of Strained Relations
Continue To Disagree On Taiwan
APEC Trade Summit Takes Political Focus
AUCKLAND, New Zealand
Saturday, September 11,1999 - 11:26 PM ET
(CBS) A handshake signaled that after months of badly strained U.S.-China relations, both presidents were ready to move forward with negotiations to bring China into the World Trade Organization, reports CBS News Correspondent Bill Plante.
The president's national security adviser, Sandy Berger, said, "I would consider the relationship between our two countries back on track." The one-hour meeting between President Clinton and Chinese President Jiang Zemin was the first between the leaders since NATO's bombing of China's embassy in Belgrade in May.
But the old differences between the two nations remain, particularly on human rights and Taiwan.
The Chinese consider Taiwan a breakaway province, but the U.S. is bound by law to provide for the island's defense. After Taiwan's president advocated a state-to-state relationship with China, Beijing stepped up -- threatening military activity.
Mr. Clinton repeated that U.S. policy on Taiwan will not change. "We favor one China," he said. "We favor a peaceful approach to working out the differences."
But Jiang repeated that if Taiwan were to seek independence, "then we would not undertake to renounce the use of force."
Complicating matters are the realities that trade ties and closer cooperation on other issues face political opposition in both the U.S. and China. But U.S. officials say they are simply happy to be talking again to China.
The meeting came as leaders of the world's biggest nations gathered in New Zealand on Saturday to talk about trade, but ended up spending most of their time discussing politics.
Top of the agenda for president Clinton and many of the other leaders was the carnage in East Timor , which has dominated talks by APEC foreign and trade ministers who arrived to discuss trade issues earlier in the week.
Set up 10 years ago to push for free trade, APEC has become distracted by politics in recent years since the WTO has become the main vehicle for opening markets.
This year's APEC summit, grouping countries with nearly half the world's trade and $16 trillion in economic output, was billed as an overture to the next round of global trade talks due to start in Seattle in November under the auspices of the WTO.
But there is little for the leaders to discuss.
A confidential draft copy of the APEC leaders' final communiqué, due to be released on Monday but obtained on Friday -- before most of the leaders even arrived in Auckland -- contained a collection of bland pronouncements about the value of free markets and a few watered-down proposals.
The statement hailed the Asian economic recovery and pledged further reform of markets to head off future crises, stressing the need to boost financial market transparency and regulation.
It offered "the strongest possible support" to a new round of global trade talks that open in Seattle in November, and calls for the repeal of export farm subsidies.
But the declaration gave only the sketchiest roadmap on trade liberalization for the new round of WTO talks, avoiding any proposals capable of offending APEC's diverse membership.
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