Interview with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao on Nov. 21, 2003 by
Executive Editor Leonard Downie Jr., Assistant Managing Editor
for Foreign News Philip Bennett, and Washington Post correspondents
John Pomfret, Philip P. Pan and Peter S. Goodman.
Premier Wen:
I know this is your first time in China, so let me start by extending
my warmest welcome to you and your colleagues. I can quote one
fitting ancient Chinese poem to describe our meeting: "Good
friends highly value their words. They travel a thousand li to
keep their promise for a gathering." In a few days time I
will visit your great country. So first of all I wish to convey
through The Washington Post my cordial greetings and best wishes
to the great American people.
I remember only a couple of days after the September 11 incident
I was here receiving participants during an international financial
conference in Beijing. And among the delegates to the meeting
there was one lady expert from the United States. I noticed that
she looked very sad and lonely, so I extended my hand to her and
expressed my sympathy, and I also asked her to convey my solicitude
to the American people.
And this reminds me of the fact that China and the United States,
two great nations, have had exchanges for over 200 years and across
three centuries. And I remember so well so many touching stories
about the profound friendship and good cooperation between the
two peoples. In the 1860s, Chinese workers, by the tens of thousands,
went to the U.S. to build the trans-continental railroad that
links the east and west coast. The Chinese workers defied starvation
and cold. Many other workers could not endure the harsh conditions.
Only the Chinese workers stuck it out to the very end. Many, many
Chinese workers lost their lives in the process of construction
and there were too many to count. However, it was recorded in
history that the last track was laid by four Chinese workers.
Hence, in 1991, the state of Illinois sent a delegation to Shanghai
solely for the purpose of building a monument with 3000 railway
spikes and they said that the contribution of Chinese workers
was essential in linking the east and west coasts and promoting
national unity. I also remember very well that from May 1942 to
September 1945 a group of young American pilots from the famous
Flying Tiger squadron flew the Hump Route to support China during
the war against fascism. The Hump Route was famous for its danger
and in those years more than 500 planes crashed, claiming the
lives of more than 1,500 Chinese and American pilots. That route
was also known as the aluminum trail for the wreckage of crashed
planes glittering in the sunlight. However, that route is a testimony
to the cooperation between the Chinese and the Americans. The
reason why I recall these touching stories is because I hope our
interview will start in a good atmosphere of mutual respect and
friendship.
Q: One of the current issues for joint Chinese
and American action is the current situation in Taiwan. What would
you like the President of the United States to do to help China
deal with the current situation in Taiwan?
A: The recent remarks and activities by the leaders of the Taiwan
authorities, especially their deliberate provocations on the referendum
issue and writing a constitution, show clearly not only their
obstinate clinging to national splittism but also their stepped
up efforts at Taiwan independence.
You put the question of Taiwan to me. Actually, I have also been
asking questions: What are the Taiwan authorities driving at with
all that they are doing and where are they taking Taiwan? Do they
still respect the cherished aspirations of the Taiwan compatriots
for peace, stability and development? Do they really want to maintain
peace and stability in the Taiwan Straits or are they bent on
disrupting peace and stability in the Taiwan Straits? I believe
that these questions are of concern to the Chinese people and
of concern to our Taiwan compatriots, and they are also of concern
to the United States and the international community at large.
Our policy toward Taiwan is a clear-cut one. It is peaceful reunification
and "one country, two systems." We will not give up
our efforts for a peaceful settlement of the question of Taiwan
because a peaceful settlement is in the fundamental interests
of all Chinese people, our Taiwan compatriots included. But we
will not sit by and do nothing faced with provocative activities
aimed at splitting the motherland.
China's sovereignty and territorial integrity brook no division
and the position of the Chinese government on upholding the one-China
principle is rock firm and defies all challenges. I hope the U.S.
government will recognize the gravity and danger of the provocative
remarks and actions taken by the leader of the Taiwan authorities
that would undermine the prospects for peaceful reunification
and that the U.S. side would not send any wrong signals to the
Taiwan authorities. And we hope that the U.S. side would take
practical measures that are conducive to the maintenance of peace
and stability in the Taiwan Straits.
Q: Are there specific measures that you would
like the United States to take? Do you have specific measures
in mind?
The Taiwan question is the most important and sensitive issue
in the China-U.S. relationship. So on the question of Taiwan,
the U.S. side must be very straightforward in adhering to the
principles of the three Sino-U.S. joint communiques and in opposing
Taiwan independence. The U.S. side must be crystal clear in opposing
the use of a referendum or writing a constitution or all other
tactics used by the leader of Taiwan authorities to pursue his
separatist agenda. And the U.S. side must adhere to the principle
of the Aug. 17 communique and refrain from upgrading arms sales
to Taiwan both in quantity and quality. This will fundamentally
help maintain peace and stability in the Taiwan Straits. It will
also be conducive to the advancement of the process of the peaceful
reunification of China. It will also be fundamentally helpful
to the maintenance of world peace and stability.
Q: If the leadership of Taiwan continues to
proceed along the road it is on, despite what you say and despite
what the Americans might say, what measures is China prepared
to take?
A: That is the most crucial question. I can clearly say this,
Mr. Executive Editor, Taiwan is China's sacred territory and is
an inalienable part of Chinese territory. No Chinese government
will abandon the position of peaceful reunification on this question.
We completely understand the desire of the Taiwan compatriots
for democracy, and we also understand their hopes for a peaceful
environment. However, when the leadership of the Taiwan authorities
wants to separate Taiwan from Chinese territory, no Chinese will
agree.
The Chinese people will pay any price to safeguard the unity
of the motherland.
I assume that you are familiar with the words of President Lincoln,
who once said, "a house divided against itself will not stand."
So the U.S. federal government would never allow any of its states
to secede from the United States. It is our hope that the situation
would not lead to that point. Therefore, we still won't give up
our efforts for peace.
Q: Another issue in U.S.-Chinese relations
is trade. China is a very large trading partner of the United
States. Recently, the Bush administration announced its intention
to restrict some exports of Chinese textiles. Do you believe it
will be necessary for China to take retaliatory action?
A: First, I want to say that the problems that crop up in our
bilateral trade and economic cooperation must be handled properly.
These questions must be handled properly because the expansion
of trade and the development of economic cooperation between us
serve the fundamental interests of the Chinese and American peoples.
We all may need to recall that in 1972 when the door was open
to our relationship 30 years ago, our trade was practically nil.
At the time Dr. [Henry] Kissinger visited China, each visiting
American to China was only allowed to carry 0 to spend in the
Chinese economy. We only started to have statistics about our
trade in 1979, and in that year the trade volume was less than
.5 billion. Now, after 25 years our joint cooperation and trade
has developed significantly and trade volume has already reached
0 billion -- that's a 40-fold increase. So you can see the
development of such a trade relationship has served the interests
of both peoples.
I am aware of the U.S. concern over the huge trade imbalance.
I would like to give you a few explanations. First, such a trade
imbalance is to a great extent structural and a result of shifting
commercial relations. I will give you one example. While the trade
deficit that exists between China and the U.S. is going up, China's
trade deficit in our trade with Asian countries is also going
up at the same time. In the first 10 months of this year, China's
exports grew by 32 percent, however our imports grew by 40 percent.
Second, if you look at our export structure, actually Sino-foreign
joint ventures or wholly foreign-owned enterprises contribute
to 65 percent of our total exports and more than half of our exports
involve the processing of imported material or parts, and the
majority of profits actually go to the foreign investors. These
enterprises include the U.S.-invested enterprises in China, such
as Motorola and Wal-Mart.
Third, what we sell to the U.S. market are the products that
U.S. consumers need, and Chinese products are affordable but of
very good quality. So our exports actually help stabilize the
price in the U.S. markets and also satisfy the needs of U.S. consumers.
Fourth, it is not China's aim to seek long-term and excessive
trade surpluses. Our aim in trade policy is to have a basic balance
between imports and exports. We are willing to open up our markets
to buy more from the United States and other countries, especially
to purchase high-tech products.
Not so long ago, we sent a few purchasing missions to the United
States and they signed contracts worth billions of U.S. dollars.
That demonstrates our sincerity. At the same time, we hope that
the United States would grant market economy status to China and
lift restrictions on China and open up its market. And we also
hope you will lift restrictions on exports to China. I can give
you an example. A few years ago, China placed an order for a Loral
satellite and we paid a deposit of more than 0 million. However,
someone in the U.S. did not want to see a Chinese rocket being
used to launch the Loral satellite. Hence, the contract was not
implemented and the 0 million deposit has not been refunded.
In reality, these restrictions will not hinder China's development.
In the past few years, China has continuously sent satellites
successfully into orbit and we also have our space program. For
instance, some digital machine tools, some computers -- with respect
to these projects, China already has very strong R&D capabilities
and in certain areas were are actually at the forefront. Nevertheless,
the United States still places these products on the list of restricted
items.
Q: Given everything you've told me so far,
were you surprised then by the action on textiles and is there
anything China needs to do in response?
A: I'm not just surprised, I'm shocked and the Chinese people
have been surprised and shocked. This unilateral restrictive action,
occurring just at the time when the Chinese people were expressing
their sincerity and involving textile products only worth 0-500
million and without any prior discussion with the Chinese government,
seriously wounded the feelings of the Chinese people. I wonder
if you have taken note of by the response by the international
community and the reaction of experts in the field. Such a decision
has hurt the US market. I want to invoke another Chinese saying:
We should not be afraid of the dark clouds blocking our view because
we are already at a high elevation. With respect to our joint
cooperation in trade and in cooperation in other areas, it is
important to adopt a strategic perspective like the view you would
have when you are already on top of Mount Tai. Then all other
mountains would be dwarfed.
We still hope between the China and the U.S. we can establish
a mechanism for regular discussion and coordination and cooperation
to tackle the problems that might come up. This will be one of
the proposals I will bring to the United States because I think
such a mechanism would play a positive role in solving problems.
The establishment of such a mechanism will provide guarantees
for equal consultations as a way to handle our disputes. Arbitrarily
imposing sanctions or restrictions will not help solve the problem.
On the contrary, it will hurt the interests of both sides.
Q: What is your thinking about the suggestion
that changing the way in which the Chinese currency is valued
would make a contribution to the trade relations between the two
countries?
A: We first began reforming our exchange rate regime in 1994.
It was decided at that time that we would adopt a market-based,
single, regulated floating exchange rate regime. Some people claim
the value of the RENMINBI is fixed and has not changed. This does
not square with the facts. I think it would be more accurate to
say that the band of fluctuation of the RENMINBI is quite narrow.
Since 1994, the RENMINBI has appreciated in real terms by 18.5
percent against the U.S. dollar and by 39.4 percent against the
Euro. In 1997, during the Asian financial crisis, we withstood
pressure for RENMINBI devaluation and since then, the band of
fluctuation of the value of the RENMINBI has been quite narrow.
The exchange rate of the currency a country should be set in
accordance to its national conditions and the state of its economic
and financial sector. There is no denying we still face very daunting
tasks in financial and banking reform. We have already allowed
our currency to be freely convertible under current account in
1996, and it will take a very long period of time and arduous
efforts before we can achieve the objective of a freely convertible
currency under the capital account. We are definitely going to
accelerate reform of the financial and banking sector and while
we do so we抣l explore how to form a rational mechanism in which
the value of the RENMINBI will fluctuate on the basis of market
conditions.
I don‘t think the exchange rate of the RENMINBI is an important
contributor to the trade imbalance between China and the U.S.
If there is any important contributor to the trade imbalance,
I think it is the abundant supply of competitive labor in China's
market.
Q: China and the United States are working
closely together to try to assure that the Korean peninsula remains
free of nuclear weapons. Do you believe that North Korea currently
possesses nuclear weapons?
A: I am unable to give you an answer to that question because
I truly don抰 know. But I can clearly tell you our attitude. We
hope the Korean peninsula will be free of nuclear weapons, and
we hope that peace and stability will be maintained on the Korean
peninsula.
Q: President Bush has assured the North Koreans
that the United States does not intend to attack. Are there other
specific steps that you believe the United States should be taking
to try to bring a resolution, to create an agreement with North
Korea?
A: You must have also noticed that there has been some progress
in the process of dialogue on the nuclear issue. The DPRK has
stated that it does not seek to possess nuclear weapons and that
denuclearization is its ultimate goal. And recently, it has also
said that under the prerequisite that its security concerns are
met and the United States abandons its hostile policy toward the
DPRK, the DPRK is prepared to give up its substantive plan to
develop a nuclear program. The Bush administration has repeatedly
said that the United States has no intention to invade or change
the regime of the DPRK, and that it wants to resolve the nuclear
issue through diplomatic means, through peaceful negotiations.
So in my view, the positions of two sides are now closer than
before.
I think the best way is to continue with the Beijing six-party
talks so that all parties concerned can sit together to have discussions
on the basis of mutual respect, equality and mutual trust, and
through such consultations they can, in the end, work out a solution
that is acceptable to all parties concerned and that is helpful
for the peaceful resolution of the nuclear issue.