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Notizie Tibet
Sisani Marina - 18 ottobre 1997
China's Jiang Urges U.S. Tolerance

Published by: World Tibet Network News Sunday, October 19, 1997

WASHINGTON, Saturday, October 18, 1997 (Reuters) - Chinese President Jiang Zemin, preparing for a U.S. state visit, urged Americans in an interview published Sunday to tolerate China's political system and to seek "common ground despite differences."

Jiang, whose visit begins next weekend, told The Washington Post he hoped to raise Chinese-American relations "to a new level." He said China and the United States "share the responsibility for preserving world peace and stability."

Chinese and American sources outlined a series of initiatives to achieve Jiang's aim of forging a strategic partnership with the Clinton administration during the state visit, the newspaper said.

China is expected to pledge to end sales of cruise missiles to Iran, and most likely the two countries will agree to implement a 1985 agreement on nuclear cooperation that would allow U.S. companies to sell China nuclear power plants and equipment.

The Post said the two sides would also sign an accord at the Oct. 29 summit pledging coordination to avoid naval incidents at sea.

More broadly, according to the newspaper, the Chinese are pressing a reluctant Clinton administration to make a joint declaration affirming the common strategic interests of the two nations and pledging to work together to guarantee stability in the 21st century.

"China and the United States have some differences on some issues," Jiang told his interviewers. "However, the common ground between us outweighs the differences, and we should proceed in the spirit of seeking common ground despite differences and work together to promote peace and stability in the (Asia-Pacific) region and the world at large."

The interview took place in Shanghai on Friday. Jiang at times read from a prepared script and at other times spoke extemporaneously, interspersing his comments with snippets of Russian and English, a line from Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address and Chinese proverbs, the Post said.

He defended the 1989 crackdown on the Tiananmen Square student uprising, said Chinese leaders were on "high alert" over the U.S.-Japanese security alliance and explained that under China's market reforms the Communist Party played a role in helping foreign investors manage labor problems.

He reasserted China's sovereignty over Tibet and Taiwan and said China must limit the scope of direct democratic participation to ensure stability and economic progress.

"The theory of relativity worked out by Mr. Einstein which is the domain of natural science, I believe can also be applied to the political field," Jiang told the Post. "Both democracy and human rights are relative concepts and not absolute and general."

Asked about the possibility of holding democratic elections for major public offices in China, he replied: "How can the American way of elections in China be organized when we have over 1.2 billion people and more than 100 million who can't read or write? ... We use a system of a mixture of both direct and indirect elections. ... "The developed capitalist countries always hope to see uniformity in the world ... which I do not think is a manifestation of democracy."

Jiang said he hoped his trip would relieve the tensions of recent years between Washington and Beijing.

"We have to seize this opportunity to promote understanding between our two countries," he said. "No matter how telecommunications develop, they cannot replace face-to-face talks. They are very important for carrying out an exchange of feelings and sentiments."

The Post said that in the interview the 71-year-old Chinese leader was animated, cheerful and friendly but the conversation was carefully structured.

The Post said it was asked to submit questions in advance and Jiang was ready with written replies, which he read word for word as the presubmitted questions were asked.

 
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