Jiang thanks Clinton by "hot line" phone for PNTR.
JohnG
Monday, May 29, 2000
Jiang thanks
Clinton for PNTR
REUTERS in Beijing
Updated at 11.12am:
President Jiang Zemin thanked US
President Bill Clinton in a phone call for
pushing through a bill giving Beijing
permanent normal trade relations (PNTR),
Xinhua (the New China News Agency)
reported on Monday.
The personal message was a clear
indication that passage of PNTR last week
through the US House of Representatives
has had a warming effect on often turbulent
Sino-US ties.
Xinhua said Mr Jiang ''expressed his
appreciation for the great efforts made by
people of insight from all walks of life in
the United States, including those in the
Democratic and Republican parties,
especially President Bill Clinton, to
realise permanent normal trade relations''.
Mr Clinton and Mr Jiang were speaking on
Sunday night via a ''hot line'' through
which they occasionally communicate.
In his most detailed public comments yet
on the US House vote, Mr Jiang made a
single reference to ''some articles that
China cannot accept'' in the legislation.
He was referring to attachments that
empower a committee to examine human
rights violations in the mainland and
recommend sanctions, but his comments
were mild in comparison with earlier
angry Chinese pronouncements.
The bill must now go before the US
Senate, but its approval is virtually
assured.
''I believe that an early settlement of the
PNTR status for China will serve to
promote Sino-US economic and trade
relations and bilateral ties as a whole, is
in the fundamental interests of both
countries, and is the common aspiration of
the people of the two countries,'' Mr Jiang
said.
He said although Sino-US ties have
witnessed ''ups and downs'' since he first
met Mr Clinton eight years ago in Seattle,
''bilateral relations, on the whole, have
been steadily improving''.
Once again, Mr Jiang stressed that the key
to better relations was to ''properly
handle'' the Taiwan issue.
Mr Clinton pulled out all the stops to win
over wavering lawmakers from his own
Democratic party who were loath to give
up an annual debate on renewing the
mainland's trade status, an exercise they
felt gave them some leverage over
Beijing's behaviour on human rights.
Xinhua said Mr Clinton assured Mr Jiang
of the US commitment to the ''one China''
principle.
He said the US government would try its
best to work for passage of the trade bill
in the Senate ''as quickly as possible'',
Xinhua said.
Mr Clinton added that he believed that
PNTR ''will further strengthen the
foundation of US-China relations'',
according to the Xinhua account. |
