TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Clinton Hopes For Broader Talks In China

ADVERTISEMENT

Los Angeles Times

Published: February 16, 2009

WASHINGTON - When Hillary Rodham Clinton needed a way to restore her reputation after the failure of her 1990s health care initiative, China provided the opportunity.

As first lady, Clinton delivered a fiery speech on human rights at a women's conference in Beijing in 1995, winning a worldwide following while dismaying her Chinese hosts, who banned coverage in the country's official media.

Now, as President Barack Obama's secretary of state, Clinton again is looking for a way to make a mark, and once more China beckons.

The circumstances have changed in 14 years. But, as she prepares to go to China this week as part of her first overseas trip in her new role, Clinton is making a behind-the-scenes bid for control of U.S. policies there, according to people familiar with the private conversations who described them on condition of anonymity.

In a series of high-level administration discussions to press her case, Clinton has contended that the complex issues related to China should fall under the jurisdiction of the nation's top diplomat, not economic officials, who controlled them during President George W. Bush's administration, the people familiar with the conversations said.
State Department officials played down the prospects of major announcements on the trip, but they said it is symbolically important that Clinton is the first secretary of state in nearly 50 years to intensely focus his or her maiden voyage on Asia.

Analysts say the moment is ripe for such a discussion between the two countries.

"They are in a good position with China," said David Shambaugh, director of the China policy program at George Washington University. "They inherited the best relationship we have had with China in 20 years. There is a high degree of understanding, professionalism and trust, and there is deep interdependence between the two countries."

CLINTON AND CHINA

•Clinton's more comprehensive approach will require the Obama administration to air issues that the Bush team generally soft-pedaled in the interest of harmony.

•Clinton's approach carries the risk of roiling the relationship at the moment when the struggling world economy is increasingly dependent on cooperation between the countries.

•Clinton, as presidential candidate and as first lady, was highly critical of China's human rights record - sensitive topics in a year that will mark both the 50th anniversary of the Dalai Lama's flight from Tibet and the 20th anniversary of the uprising in Tiananmen Square.

•In one sign of a fresh start, Clinton said the United States and China would resume middle-level exchanges between their militaries, which China suspended because of American arms sales to Taiwan.

TOPICS CLINTON WILL EXPLORE

Climate change: She is seeking to forge a new U.S.-Chinese agreement on climate change at a moment when the Chinese fear that any threat to its economy could jeopardize social stability. Clinton and Todd Stern, the administration's special envoy for climate change negotiations, will begin discussions on environmental issues. China recently passed the United States as the world's biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, Clinton noted. To highlight public-private partnerships, she will visit a clean thermal power plant built with General Electric and Chinese technology.

Economy: She wants to engage with the Chinese on difficult economic issues, including currency values, a sore subject after U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner accused China during his confirmation hearing last month of manipulating its currency.

North Korea's nuclear program: In northern Asia, the stalled talks on North Korea's nuclear program will be a key topic. China chairs the six-nation negotiations, which have been stymied by Pyongyang's refusal to commit to a plan to verify the extent of its nuclear activities. While Clinton has tried to reach out to North Korea, she also agreed to meet with the families of Japanese citizens abducted by the country.

Ties in Southeast Asia: The Indonesia stop is intended to demonstrate the administration's interest in building ties in Southeast Asia, where China has made important trade and diplomatic inroads in the past five years as the United States was distracted by the war in Iraq. Clinton plans to announce that she will attend a Southeast Asian ministerial meeting this summer - which her predecessor, Condoleezza Rice, tended to skip - and Clinton is expected to indicate a willingness for the United States to sign a treaty of "amity and cooperation," which the Bush administration refused to do.

CLINTON'S SCHEDULE

Today and Tuesday: Tokyo

Wednesday: Tokyo. Depart for Jakarta, Indonesia.

Thursday: Jakarta. Depart for Seoul, South Korea.

Friday: Seoul. Depart for Beijing.

Saturday: Beijing

Sunday: Beijing. Return to Washington.

Information from The New York Times and The Washington Post was used in this report.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT