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American Morning

U.S./China Standoff: War of Words Rages On

Aired April 05, 2001 - 10:00   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.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: We're going to go straight to the latest on the U.S.-China standoff. Diplomats on both sides are on the frontlines trying to win a war of words.

Here's the latest on the story. China is still demanding an American apology in connection with the collision of a U.S. Navy surveillance plane and a Chinese fighter. However, the Bush administration is only offering regret for the missing Chinese pilot.

Meanwhile, the U.S. is demanding a second meeting with the crew of the Navy plane. All 24 are being detained on a Chinese island where an emergency landing was made. But, China says that it is questioning the crew and accuses each of violating international law.

LEON HARRIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Chinese and U.S. diplomats have been holding a series of meetings trying to break this stalemate.

CNN's Andrea Koppel joins us now from the State Department. She's got more -- Andrea, good morning.

ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Leon.

Well, there's no news yet from the State Department. Officials are huddled in meetings upstairs. But over at the White House this morning for the first time officials using the words encourage, saying that they've seen some encouraging signs out of China. They're referring to the meetings that took place on Wednesday with the U.S. ambassador to China, Joseph Prueher, and senior foreign ministry officials, in fact, with the foreign minister, and the meetings that took place here at the State Department yesterday with Secretary of State Powell and China's ambassador to Washington, Yang Jiechi.

At that meeting, State Department officials say, Secretary Powell hand delivered a letter that he had written to China's top diplomat, Qian Qichen, asking for the release of the crew and basically saying, in the words of one State Department official, the need to discuss the importance of releasing the crew and the need to discuss the issues in dispute.

Leon, the State Department and the Bush administration is trying to open up avenues of conversation, to lower the rhetoric, to get a dialogue going such that China won't continue to sort of keep digging its heels into the ground and will be able to find some sort of face saving way to resolve this issue as it stands right now. Now, just a short time ago on CNN, the former secretary of defense, William Cohen, expressed some of his thoughts as to just how things stand at the moment.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILLIAM COHEN, FORMER DEFENSE SECRETARY: Secretary Powell has sent a message through the appropriate channels to the Chinese officials. There have been, we have our ambassador, former Admiral Prueher, who has been in contact with his officials, Chinese officials in Beijing. At some appropriate time if it has to be at the presidential level, then that certainly, you know, it can be pursued.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOPPEL: But that's not an option that the Bush administration is talking about or thinking about at the moment. They're waiting to hear some more reaction from Beijing beyond the foreign minister's response today, Leon, saying that it was an encouraging sign, a step in the right direction.

But as to whether or not there's going to be any further meeting with the crew, the last time was on Tuesday. No word yet. Officials say that there is still the possibility that such a meeting might happen before the day is out.

HARRIS: Andrea Koppel reporting live this morning from the State Department. Thank you -- Daryn.

KAGAN: More now from the Chinese side where the Chinese say that the U.S. expression of regret is a step in the right direction, the statement coming in the absence, though, of China's president, Jiang Zemin. Mr. Jiang left Beijing yesterday for a two week visit to Latin America and this is raising the risk that his absence may delay any decision on the detained Navy crew.

For more on this, let's now go to our Beijing bureau chief, Rebecca MacKinnon, joining us by phone from the Chinese capital -- Rebecca.

REBECCA MACKINNON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Daryn.

There may be dialogue going on behind closed doors here in Beijing between U.S. diplomats and Chinese officials here in Beijing. There has been no movement down in Hainan, where U.S. diplomats have gone down there to try and continue to keep contact with the U.S. crew. They are still awaiting word when and if they are going to be able to see the crew again. Last they saw them was on Tuesday night Beijing time. Now it's Thursday night. So there's a certain amount of frustration on the ground in Hainan.

Meanwhile, the Chinese foreign ministry spokesman in public is maintaining a fairly hard line level of rhetoric and here is what foreign ministry spokesman Sun Yuxi had to say today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SUN YUXI, CHINESE FOREIGN MINISTRY: It is our view that the expression of regret is a step in the right direction in solving this problem. The U.S. is clear on China's position and demands, so I emphasize the U.S. should take full responsibility and issue a full apology.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACKINNON: Meanwhile, the spokesman also made it clear that China believes that the U.S. crew members have violated Chinese law when they entered illegally into China's air space and that it is fully natural and within the rights of Chinese authorities to question the crew. It's not clear exactly the nature of the questioning that's going on, who it's being conducted by, but he made it very clear today that there is an investigation going on by the Chinese authorities to get all the facts straight in the situation, why the collision happened, and the U.S. crew is very much part of that investigation -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Rebecca, let's talk a little bit more about the symbolism involved with Mr. Jiang still going on this trip. What do you think the Chinese intend to represent by his doing that?

MACKINNON: Well, it's interesting, the spokesman was asked today whether it made any difference that Jiang was gone or not in terms of resolving the crisis. He said it didn't. He said that authorities here in Beijing and Jiang remain in constant contact.

I think the symbolism of Jiang continuing his itinerary is perhaps several things. One is I think China is trying to show that its universe does not revolve around the United States and its relationship solely with the United States, that China has been advocating that this is a multi-polar world, it should not be a world dominated by one superpower, I.e., the United States, and that it has a lot of very important relationships with many other countries and that it wants to continue to emphasize those and that they're very important and China's just not going to drop everything for the sake of the U.S. -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Rebecca MacKinnon in Beijing, thank you, Rebecca.

Meanwhile, the search does go on for that missing Chinese pilot. He is feared dead, but many Chinese have already made him a martyr.

More now from our senior Asian correspondent Mike Chinoy. He has more on how this pilot has become a Chinese hero.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MIKE CHINOY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Over the South China Sea, Chinese helicopters search for Wang Wei, the 32-year-old fighter pilot who's been missing since his F-8 jet collided with the U.S. spy plane on Sunday.

President Jiang Zemin has made the search for Wang a top priority and Chinese ships and planes have been combing the waters southeast of Hainan Island, where the incident took place.

Meanwhile, the Chinese state run media has begun to portray Wang as a national hero. His photo has been splashed on television and in newspapers. Media accounts have hailed him as an outstanding pilot, although some Western press reports quote U.S. military officials as saying that Wang had previously flown dangerously close to other U.S. surveillance planes.

U.S. acknowledgement of China's grief over Wang's fate and how Beijing handles the reaction of its own people to his disappearance has emerged as a crucial element in resolving the crisis and the fact that Beijing chose Thursday to launch its propaganda campaign about him could be a significant move.

April 5 is Qing Ming, the day that Chinese traditionally commemorate their dead. If China wanted to bring this issue to closure, Qing Ming would be an appropriate time to start. Indeed, many analysts believe that ending the search and declaring Wang dead is an essential step before China will feel able to let the U.S. air crew leave. The fact that Beijing has now begun to eulogize its lost flier appears to be an important sign that moment could be approaching.

Mike Chinoy, CNN, Hong Kong.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: And as we just heard from Mike Chinoy, some say the missing Chinese pilot had previously demonstrated aggressive tactic toward U.S. air crews. Last night on CNN's LARRY KING LIVE, Senator Richard Lugar made note of that. Lugar is on the Senate Intelligence Committee.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. RICHARD LUGAR (R), INDIANA: The Chinese pilots have become more aggressive in recent weeks, more flights against this particular aircraft that flies a reconnaissance path that is the same every time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: The Chinese pilot's face reportedly was photographed by other U.S. spy planes.

HARRIS: Well, the stand-off between the U.S. and China may even have an effect on trade. The House Small Business Committee has canceled a hearing today. This hearing was about Pentagon testimony on which country might get a contract for supply of the Army's black berets. One of the countries being considered, China.

CNN's Jeanne Meserve is in Washington. She's got more on this story for us now -- Jeanne.

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Leon, the stand-off is having repercussions in Washington, those hearings one of them. We'll get to that in a moment. But first, Senator Don Nickles has canceled a planned trip to China during next week's recess and some other legislators who were scheduled to fly to China Saturday for an eight day political and cultural exchange say they are reconsidering.

Senator Patty Murray of Washington State is one of those slated to take part in the political and cultural exchange. Ironically, all 24 of the crew are based in her home state.

Another Washington casualty of the incident, as you mentioned, the Pentagon canceled the announcement of a contract with China and other nations to manufacture hundreds of thousands of berets for U.S. military personnel. After the Pentagon move, a Congressional committee postponed a hearing into why American uniform parts were being made overseas. A committee spokesman told CNN members didn't want the hearing to focus on the current incident.

Trade overall is an area where there clearly could be significant fallout from this situation. China and the U.S. are major trade partners, the U.S. sending $16 billion a year in goods and services to China, China shipping back $100 billion worth. Congress voted to give China permanent normal trade status last year, but China has not yet been granted entry to the World Trade Organization and that means that Congress may have to vote again on China trade this year. The longer U.S. servicemen and women are held in China, the dimmer the outlook for that vote for China. In the words of Tom Lantos, ranking Democrat on the House International Relations Committee, they are losing votes by the minute -- Leon.

HARRIS: Jeanne, I'm curious about that delegation you mentioned at the top of your report, this delegation that's considering going to China over the weekend. You say that they are now reconsidering their plans. They're not being told by the White House to not go on this trip? Why kind of guidance are they getting from the White House right now?

MESERVE: Well, actually, I talked to the office of a senator who was planning to take not a Congressional trip but one with the Aspen Institute, which is a private concern. And that office told me that the senator has been given guidance by both the State Department and the National Security Council to go ahead, that members of Congress who already had trips scheduled to go to China should proceed with them during this recess -- Leon.

HARRIS: Understood. Thanks much, Jeanne Meserve reporting live from Washington. We'll talk to you later on.

We want to show you now some live pictures, folks, that we're getting in from Argentina, we understand. This is where, this is the Chinese leader Jiang Zemin's plane, and he is just arriving on the ground in Santiago, Chile. That's where that is.

KAGAN: I think this is the beginning of a two week trip for President Jiang. It's being noted that we just were able to talk to our Rebecca MacKinnon about this, the significance that the head of China, during this U.S.-China stand-off, would go ahead and take a trip that had been planned for two -- that had been planned to take this trip as it is. We'll have more on that and more on President Jiang's itinerary ahead on CNN LIVE this morning.

HARRIS: Yeah, exactly. A bit of a political play here going on.

Coming up also a little bit later on in the show, we'll take a look at the international legal aspects of this U.S.-China plane incident. Our guest is an expert from the Harvard School of Law so make sure you stay with us for that.

For more on the Navy's EP-3 surveillance aircraft, just log onto CNN.com/specials. You can take and in depth look inside one of the U.S.' most sophisticated military planes there on that Web site.

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