More Sweet than Sour

Zhao's visit strengthens Sino-American relations

Dapper and perhaps bemused, the guest of honor stood quietly through the welcoming din. Before him on the White House lawn, a fife-and-drum corps stepped loudly and flawlessly through its paces. In the distance, a knot of pro-Taiwanese demonstrators chanted protests against his presence. Thus in noisy, if peculiarly democratic fashion did the U.S. capital greet Chinese Premier Zhao Ziyang. Zhao, the highest-ranking Peking official ever to visit the U.S.,* had come to shore up a wobbly relationship. Said Zhao at the White House ceremony: "I come as a friendly envoy of the Chinese people for the purpose of seeking increased mutual understanding."

The concrete results of Zhao's visit--two bilateral agreements--were not major breakthroughs. The first extended an earlier accord that established the exchange of scientific information and personnel. The second paved the way for more specific agreements on joint development of offshore oil, coal and other sectors of the Chinese economy. Said one U.S. official: "It tells Chinese foreign-trading companies that it is all right to 'buy American.' "

More nettlesome was a planned accord on nuclear cooperation that would permit China to buy U.S. nuclear reactors and fuel for peaceful purposes. The agreement fell prey to Chinese misgivings over the congressionally mandated requirement that nuclear material not be reprocessed or transferred without U.S. approval. Prospects are slim that a compromise agreement can be worked out in time for Reagan's scheduled visit to Peking in April. Nonetheless. Administration officials were cheered by Zhao's verbal assurances that China intends to abide by the 1968 nuclear nonproliferation treaty, which it has refused to sign.

The centerpiece of Zhao's mission was a wide-ranging 70-minute talk with Reagan in the Oval Office. The session went well, despite one presidential gaffe. Reagan erroneously thanked Zhao for allowing American representatives to question Vietnamese refugees living in China about U.S. soldiers classified as missing in action in the Viet Nam War. In fact, China has only approved talks with its officials, not the refugees. The Chinese leader diplomatically let the comment pass, but his colleagues were horrified.

There were fewer difficulties on other issues, although Zhao forcefully stated China's claim to Taiwan. "This is China's internal affair," his aides quoted him as saying at one point during the Oval Office session. "We cannot make any commitment to the settlement of the question by peaceful means only."

Another hotspot. North Korea, was also discussed. Zhao alerted Reagan to that country's willingness to hold three-way unification talks with South Korea and the U.S. hours before the Pyongyang government made the offer public. Secretary of State George Shultz and Reagan urged China to participate in such talks, a request Zhao agreed to consider.

During the whirl of dinners, meetings and interviews, Zhao, 64, scored points for his sophistication, low-key manner and personal warmth. By week's end after he had jetted to San Francisco and then headed back east for meetings in New York City, there was little doubt that Zhao's first trip to the U.S. would be a success. Said Reagan in his farewell: "We now look forward all the more to our trip in April, knowing that friends will be there to greet us."

*Deng Xiaoping. China's de facto boss, visited the U.S. in 1979 as Vice Premier.