The Third Session of China-US Environment and Development Forum was held
in Hawaii on January 11-12, 2000,with Madam Zhulilan, Minister of Science and
Technology at the head of the Chinese delegation, and Doctor Neal Lane,
Assistant to the President for Science and Technology and Director of the Office
of Science and Technology Policy of the White House at the head of the US
delegation. Li zhaoxing, Chinese ambassador to the US attended the opening
ceremony of the forum and delivered a speech. The two sides, divided into four
working groups, discussed and exchanged views on energy policy, environment
policy, science for sustainable development and commercial cooperation. They
reviewed their cooperation in these areas, analyzed the existing problems and
tabled proposals for solving these problems. The discussions helped enhance
mutual understanding between the two sides in the above-mentioned areas. The two
sides reached consensus on many issues and expressed intent of cooperation in
some areas.
On January 14, Chinese Minister of Science and Technology Zhu Lilan and
Neal Lane, Assistant to the U.S. President for Science and Technology and
Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy of the White House
co-chaired the 9th Session of the China-U.S. Joint Committee on Science and
Technology. The two sides discussed and exchanged views on the issues of basic
science cooperation, environmental protection, hygiene & health, reduction
of disasters by means of science and technology, science and technological
cooperation in agriculture and industries, etc.
In March, U.S. Secretary of Education Richard Riley visited China. The
two sides signed a governmental agreement on educational exchanges and
cooperation. In November, Chinese Minister of Education Chen Zhili led a
governmental delegation to visit the U.S. From late August to early and middle
September, the big event "Chinese Culture in the U.S." was carried out in New
York and other 8 cities from the east coast through the central land to the west
coast of the U.S. That was a comprehensive culture event of the biggest scale
China has ever held in the U.S. The theme speeches, arts performance and
exhibitions attracted an audience of around 100,000. President Jiang Zemin,
President Clinton and Secretary General of the UN Kofi Annan wrote words of
congratulations for the event respectively. President Jiang attended the
performance by China Traditional Music Orchestra in the Lincoln Arts Center.
Vice Premier Qian Qichen attended the opening ceremony of the exhibition " A
Close look at China".
According to incomplete statistics, up to November 20, 2000, 262 cultural
exchange programs were carried out, with 3226 mutual visits, between the two
countries, among which 136 programs and 1554 visits were carried out by the
Chinese side in the U.S.
IV. Military Exchanges Between
China and the U.S.
Military exchanges between armed forces of the two countries constitute an
important part of China-U.S. relations. Contacts and cooperation have been
conducted in the military field ever since the establishment of diplomatic
relationship between China and the U.S. On June 5, 1989, U.S. President George
Bush announced the sanctions against China and on the next day, U.S. Secretary
of Defense Cheney announced the suspension of the scheduled visits to the U.S.
by China's Navy Commander Zhang Lianzhong and Minister of National Defense Qin
Jiwei. On June 7, the Ministry of National Defense of China responded strongly
to Cheney's Statement, expressing its utmost regret over the sabotage of
existing normal relations between the defense institutions of the two countries
and the gross interference with China's internal affairs by the U.S. side. In
1994, the high-level military exchanges were restored after five years of
suspension. In August, Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Liberation Army
(PLA) Xu Huizi paid a visit to the U.S. and in October, U.S. Secretary of
Defense William Perry visited China. In 1995, the foundation of China-U.S.
relations was severely undermined by U.S. Government's permission of Li
Denghui's visit to the U.S. As a result, China's Air Force Commander Yu Zhenwu
broke off his visit in the U.S. and Minister of National Defense Chi Haotian
postponed his planned visit. Due to the gross interference with China's internal
affairs by the U.S. during the PLA military exercises in the Taiwan Strait, the
visit scheduled April, 1996 to the U.S. by China's State Councilor and Defense
Minister Chi Haotian was again postponed. Chi's official visit was finally
realized on December 8-18, 1996. In October, wreckage of an American aircraft
crashed during WWII and the remains of the crew members were found in Xing'an
County of Guangxi Autonomous Region. During his meeting with U.S. President Bill
Clinton in Manila on Nov. 24, President Jiang Zemin informed the U.S. President
of the finding and passed to him the relevant photos and videotapes. President
Jiang also welcomed the U.S. side to send personnel to China to make an on-site
investigation. President Clinton thanked President Jiang for the information and
said that this would bring enormous consolation to the family members of the
dead and all the American people would be grateful for it. On December 9,
Defense Minister Chi Haotian, during his visit to the U.S., handed some articles
left behind by the above-mentioned U.S. pilots to Secretary of Defense William
Perry and Mr. Perry expressed his gratitude.
From March 9 to 25, 1997, a Chinese naval fleet consisting of three vessels,
Harbin, Zhuhai and Nancang paid a visit to the Pearl Harbour of Hawaii and San
Diego successively, which was the first visit to the U.S. territorial continent
by a Chinese naval fleet. From August 5 to 12, Chief of the General Staff of the
PLA, General Fu Quanyou visited the U.S. and from May 12 to 16, General John
Shalikashvili, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the United States,
visited China. In September, two U.S. warships visited Chinese city of Qingdao.
During President Jiang Zemin's state visit to the U.S., the two sides reached an
agreement on establishing a consultative mechanism to strengthen military
maritime safety.
In January, 1998, the U.S. Secretary of Defense William
Cohen visited China and the two sides signed the Agreement between the Ministry
of National Defense of the People's Republic of China and the Department of
Defense of the United States of America on Establishing a Consultation Mechanism
to Strengthen Military Maritime Safety. In September, General Zhang Wannian,
China's Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission, visited the U.S. and
the two sides signed the Joint Statement on Exchange of Relevant Information
about Military Environmental Protection. During President Clinton's state visit
to China in June 1998, the two heads of state announced that China and the
United States will not target strategic nuclear weapon under their respective
control at each other. Moreover, the two sides reached an agreement on
cooperation in humanitarian assistance, disaster relief, military enviornmental
protection and exchanges of observers to inspect the other side's joint training
exercises. U.S. warships visited Qingdao and Shanghai respectively in August and
December.