Terrorists' designs will be foiled: Bush

By Amit Baruah

SHANGHAI, OCT. 18. The U.S. President, Mr. George W. Bush, arrived in Shanghai this evening to garner support from Asia- Pacific Econo mic Cooperation (APEC) countries in America's battle against terrorism and meet the Chinese President, Mr. Jiang Zemin, for the first time since the former taking office. Chinese authorities have put in place extremely tight security arrangements in Shanghai. Few details are being released about Mr. Bush's schedule of mee tings in view of security dictates.

``We'll be strengthening our cooperation in the war on terror. We'll strengthen the economic ties that bring growth and hope to the entire world,'' Mr. Bush was quoted as saying en route from Washington to Shanghai. ``The terrorists attacked the World Trade Center, and we will defeat them by expanding and encouraging world trade,'' he was quoted as saying.

Mr. Bush will meet Mr. Jiang tomorrow in what will be his most important bilateral meeting in Shanghai. He is also expected to have separate meetings with leaders of South Korea, Malaysia, Japan, Brunei, Peru, Singapore and Russia during his stay here.

Asked about the Bush-Jiang meeting, the U.S. Secretary of State, Gen. Colin Powell, said Washington had been encouraged by the response from China in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. This support in the battle against terrorism was likely to figure in the talks between the two leaders tomorrow, Gen. Powell told reporters at a press conference this afternoon.

Referring to the multi-faceted relationship with China, including in the area of trade, Gen. Powell specifically referred to the spy plane incident of April 1 this year and how the two countries had resolved that issue.

According to Gen. Powell, there remained differences between China and the U.S. He mentioned two specific issues - those of (missile) proliferation and human rights. He said the two countries had a valuable relationship and could speak candidly with each other about their differences.

In response to the same question, the Chinese Foreign Minister, Mr. Tang Jiaxuan, said the summit meeting between Mr. Bush and Mr. Jiang was ``important'' and took place at a time when the relationship between the two countries was improving.

Stating that China was ready to enhance cooperation with the U.S., Mr. Tang said while there were differences between the two countries, it was necessary not to lose sight of the wide areas of agreement. From the Chinese perspective, Mr. Tang stressed the appropriate handling of the Taiwan issue.

The issue of American arms sales to Taiwan has been a ticklish issue between the two countries and the Bush administration, in its early days, had made no bones of the fact that it views China as a ``strategic competitor''.

This description was particularly jarring because the then U.S. President, Mr. Bill Clinton, had publicly referred to China as a ``strategic partner''.

However, the need for Chinese support in the battle against terrorism had forced such issues to the background. With the U.S. focused on a single-point agenda at the moment, bilateral relations between the U.S. and China should have an easier ride.

Another issue on which China has been strident in its criticism is that of missile defence. A recent statement from Mr. Bush reiterating the relevance of missile defence would have been noted in China, but this is unlikely to be made into a big issue at the moment.

On terrorism, China has repeatedly stated that it is opposed to all forms of terrorism and favours a greater U.N. role in the battle against this scourge.

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Section  : International
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