Return to Transcripts main page
American Morning
President Bush in Beijing on Final Leg of East Asia Tour
Aired February 21, 2002 - 09:05 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: "Up Front" this morning, President Bush is in Beijing today on the final leg of east Asia, his tour of east Asia. He met with president Jiang Zemin earlier today, and the two leaders "disagreed with candor," according to Mr. Bush, on several important issues, including the one-china policy and weapons proliferation. But the two did agree on issue of trade, economics and technology. The president's arrival there comes 30 years after Richard Nixon opened China to the West with his historic first visit.
And joining us now to talk more about the president's journey to china is former national security adviser Zbigniew Brezezinski, who joins us from Washington this morning.
Always good to see you. Welcome back, sir.
ZBIGNIEW BREZEZINSKI, FMR. NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: It's nice to be back with you.
ZAHN: Thank you.
So let's start off, first of all, with what the president apparently is not coming home with, and that is some sort of deal to control weapons proliferation in China. How big of a blow is that?
BREZEZINSKI: I don't think we had any expectation that the Chinese would all of a sudden accommodate us. Their view is that they have a right to sell armaments abroad just as we do. It will take time to develop a relationship with the Chinese that results in a shared perception on proliferation. But we are working at it, and the relationship now I would call a mature, responsible relationship, and that's good.
ZAHN: All right, let's talk a little bit more about that, because we know that a CIA report stated that the China has not only supplied missiles to Iran, but to North Korea as well.
At one of these meetings, President Bush approaching Jiang Zemin and encouraged him to try to enterprise a meeting with the president of North Korea. Is there any hypocrisy here at a time when the president continues to refer to North Korea as one of the partners in the "axis of evil."
BREZEZINSKI: Well, I think that phrase, which really kind of a rhetorical flourish, was meant to emphasize to the world that there is a connection between terrorism and proliferation. And in that sense, it was a useful signal, even though the wording was a little bit awkward. It is certainly a matter of evil. I'm not sure it is an axis. But to talk to the Chinese about North Korea makes a lot of sense. The Chinese have an interest in northeast Asia being stable, because only if it is stable can they themselves develop. So they had a common stake with us in avoiding any conflict pertaining to North Korea, and the North Koreans have been messing around with proliferation in a very indiscriminate fashion.
ZAHN: The rift of course continues with China and the United States on the issue of Taiwan, the president making abundantly clear he still supports the Taiwan Relations Act, which means the U.S. ultimately could supply weapons to Taiwan if this is any sort of military intervention. You didn't expect that to change on this trip, did you?
BREZEZINSKI: Not, certainly not. As you know, I was intimately involved in the normalization of relations between the United States and China. And on the day that normalization was being announced, the Chinese tried to tell us, well, you have agreed to sell arms to Taiwan only for one more year, and I arranged for a message to be sent to Dem Xiao Ping (ph) from the president of the United States saying, no, we have arranged to continue selling arms to Taiwan if there's a need to sell arms. So let's just disagree on this issue, agree to disagree, and that's the way it worked over the last 20 years. If we feel Taiwan is threatened, we will sell more arms. If we feel it is not threatened, we will sell less arms, perhaps even no arms, and that is the arrangement.
ZAHN: So based on what you've seen so far, has this been -- would you qualify this as a successful trip for the president?
BREZEZINSKI: I think it was a useful trip, because the "axis of evil" formula, notwithstanding its inner meaning, the link between terrorism and proliferation, scared a lot of people and created a lot of misunderstanding. It was, in some respects, an unfortunate wording.
And by going to South Korea and to Japan and to China, I think the president was able to establish a logical, rationale linkage between the problem of terrorism and the problem of proliferation. And that I think is an important accomplishment.
ZAHN: I could talk to you all day, but I only have 30 seconds to close with the issue of the Middle East. It now appears as though Saudi Arabia is offering to play some sort of role in this peace process, saying that if an agreement can be carved out, that you know, benefits the Palestinian as far as they're concerned, that they will expect Israel's right to exist. How seriously to do you take the Saudi Arabian effort?
BREZEZINSKI: I think it is important, because heretofore, the Arabs, outside of the Palestinians, have held back, and in effect said to Arafat, you negotiate, you make some of the concessions that are necessary, you run the risk for making them, and we, at the best, may back you from the outside. Now finally, the Saudis and others are beginning to step and say, look, if there's a real peace, we're prepared to recognize Israel, to have a genuine accommodation based on fairness, a viable Palestinian state and a secure Israel. And our hope that Sharon will respond positively. I'm not to hopeful given the record, but one should always hope for a surprise.
Well, as always, we appreciate your covering so much territory, visiting so many countries with us this morning.
Zbigniew Brezezinski, thank you for your insights.
BREZEZINSKI: Nice to be with you.
ZAHN: We look forward to having you back.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
