DATE=7/3/98 TYPE=NEWS ANALYSIS NUMBER=5-40860 TITLE=CHINA / CLINTON BYLINE=STEPHANIE HO DATELINE=HONG KONG CONTENT= VOICED AT: INTRO: PRESIDENT CLINTON'S JUST-COMPLETED TRIP TO CHINA WAS LONG ON SYMBOLISM AND SHORT ON SUBSTANCE. IN THIS NEWS ANALYSIS, V-O-A'S STEPHANIE HO REPORTS THE TRIP'S MAIN ACHIEVEMENT WAS TO ESTABLISH A FRANK -- AND MORE PUBLIC -- DIALOGUE BETWEEN CHINA AND THE UNITED STATES. TEXT: PRESIDENT CLINTON CALLS HIS CHINA POLICY "A POLICY OF ENGAGEMENT." IN A NEWS CONFERENCE BEFORE LEAVING HONG KONG FOR HOME FRIDAY, MR. CLINTON DEFENDED HIS ADMINISTRATION'S ENGAGEMENT STRATEGY, SAYING IT STILL HAS A STRONG HUMAN RIGHTS COMPONENT. MR. CLINTON -- WHO AS A POLITICAL CANDIDATE OFTEN CRITICIZED PRESIDENT GEORGE BUSH'S CHINA POLICY AS WEAK ON HUMAN RIGHTS -- SAYS HE HAS SINCE LEARNED A FEW LESSONS. // CLINTON ACT // I THINK ANY PRESIDENT WOULD SAY THAT ONCE YOU'VE SERVED IN THIS JOB, YOU UNDERSTAND A LITTLE BIT MORE THE NUANCES OF ALL THE POLICIES THAN YOU DO BEFORE YOU GET IT (THE JOB). // END ACT // MR. CLINTON BECAME THE FIRST AMERICAN PRESIDENT TO VISIT CHINA SINCE BEIJING'S BLOODY 1989 CRACKDOWN ON THE DEMOCRACY MOVEMENT IN TIANANMEN SQUARE. AND HIS FAILURE TO MEET WITH ANY CHINESE DISSIDENTS DURING HIS VISIT DREW CRITICISM FROM SOME HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVISTS. BUT PRESIDENT CLINTON SAYS HE WAS ENCOURAGED THAT HIS NEWS CONFERENCE WITH CHINESE PRESIDENT JIANG ZEMIN WAS BROADCAST LIVE ON CHINESE TELEVISION. MR. CLINTON USED THAT FORUM TO OPENLY DISPUTE BEIJING'S EXPLANATION FOR TIANANMEN SQUARE // CLINTON ACT // I FELT THAT BY GOING DIRECTLY TO ENGAGE THE CHINESE, STARTING WITH THE PRESIDENT, AND ESPECIALLY TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THE OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE THIS FREE AND OPEN DEBATE BEFORE ALL THE CHINESE PEOPLE, I COULD DO MORE IN THE SHORT AND LONG RUN TO ADVANCE THE CAUSE OF HUMAN RIGHTS. // END ACT // ONE OF THE NUANCES OF U-S POLICY TOWARD CHINA IS BUSINESS. DURING PRESIDENT CLINTON'S TRIP, CHINESE NEWSPAPERS DECLARED THAT U-S COMPANIES HAD SIGNED TWO-BILLION DOLLARS' WORTH OF DEALS WITH CHINESE COMPANIES. HOWEVER, MANY OF THE DEALS -- INCLUDING AN ORDER THAT CHINA PLACED WITH THE "BOEING" COMPANY FOR 17 AIRCRAFT -- HAD BEEN AGREED TO LONG BEFORE THE AMERICAN PRESIDENT'S ARRIVAL IN CHINA. IN THE MEANTIME, THE U-S TRADE DEFICIT WITH CHINA -- WHICH REACHED NEARLY 50-BILLION DOLLARS IN 1997 -- IS GROWING EVEN LARGER THIS YEAR. THE STATUS OF TAIWAN -- AN ISLAND CHINA REGARDS AS A RENEGADE PROVINCE -- IS ANOTHER ISSUE THAT BOTH COUNTRIES FOCUSED ON DURING PRESIDENT CLINTON'S TRIP. IN A SPEECH IN SHANGHAI, THE PRESIDENT PUBLICLY ARTICULATED A POLICY HE CALLED "THE THREE NO'S" -- ONE OF WHICH IS "NO" TO U-S SUPPORT FOR TAIWAN INDEPENDENCE. PAST U-S ADMINISTRATIONS HAD SIMPLY "ACKNOWLEDGED" CHINA'S POSITION ON TAIWAN, LEAVING U-S POLICY SOMEWHAT AMBIGUOUS. AND BEIJING WANTED AN UNEQUIVOCAL STATEMENT FROM PRESIDENT CLINTON ON TAIWAN -- WHICH IT SEEMED TO RECEIVE. IN ANSWER TO QUESTIONS ABOUT HIS ADMINISTRATION'S TAIWAN POLICY, MR. CLINTON ARGUED THAT HIS STATEMENT DID NOT INDICATE A CHANGE IN U-S POLICY. // CLINTON ACT // THE QUESTION OF INDEPENDENCE FOR TAIWAN, FOR EXAMPLE, HAS BEEN AMERICAN POLICY FOR A LONG TIME AND HAS BEEN A POLICY THAT HAS BEEN EMBRACED BY THE GOVERNMENT IN TAIWAN ITSELF. // END ACT // CRITICS SAY, THOUGH, THAT THE PRESIDENTIAL STATEMENT SIGNIFICANTLY WEAKENS TAIWAN'S BARGAINING POWER IN NEGOTIATIONS WITH CHINA AND UNDERMINES THE RIGHT OF THE DEMOCRATIC ISLAND'S 21-MILLION PEOPLE TO DETERMINE THEIR OWN FUTURE. THE MOST SIGNIFICANT AGREEMENT THE UNITED STATES AND CHINA REACHED AS A RESULT OF PRESIDENT CLINTON'S VISIT WAS AN ACCORD NOT TO POINT, OR TARGET, NUCLEAR MISSILES AT EACH OTHER. ALTHOUGH THIS COULD PREVENT AN ACCIDENTAL STRIKE, THE AGREEMENT IS LARGELY SYMBOLIC BECAUSE EXPERTS SAY THE MISSILES CAN BE RE-TARGETED IN A MATTER OF MINUTES. PRESIDENT CLINTON SAYS THE MAIN AIM OF HIS CHINA POLICY IS TO INFLUENCE THE CHINESE POPULATION THROUGH EXPANDED TIES AND INCREASED EXPOSURE. HIS FRANK, OPEN DEBATE WITH JIANG ZEMIN ON CHINESE TELEVISION WAS A STEP TOWARD THAT GOAL -- IT GAVE THE CHINESE PEOPLE THE KIND OF EXPOSURE TO U-S VIEWS THEY HAD NEVER SEEN BEFORE. (SIGNED) NEB/HO/DWJ/RRM/PLM 03-Jul-98 11:40 PM EDT (0340 UTC) NNNN Source: Voice of America .