US President George W. Bush personally reiterated his government's commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act as he met for nearly an hour at the White House with Chinese Vice Premier Qian Qichen (
But while the issue of US arms sales to Taiwan came up during the meeting, the two did not discuss it in detail, a senior US government official said after the meeting.
The Bush administration is scheduled to decide next month on its response to Taiwan's annual shopping list of arms purchases, the most sensitive of which is Taipei's desire to buy four US$1 billion advanced destroyers equipped with the AEGIS radar and battle management system.
Beijing has vociferously opposed the sale of the destroyers, warning it would violate US agreements with China and could lead to military confrontation.
"This meeting will give me a chance to confirm the fact that I will honor our obligations under the Taiwan Relations Act," Bush said before entering the meeting. "I look forward to explaining that as clearly as I can to our distinguished guest. If he wishes to bring up the subject and wishes to make a case, I will be glad to listen. But no decision has been made yet [on this year's arms sales package] and I will do what I think is in the best interest of our relationship and in the best interests of conforming to obligations we have," he said.
After the meeting, a senior government official briefed reporters. "We did not discuss the details of arms sales," the official said.
While the issue came up, "the context was in the overall tenor of the relationship. We adhere to the TRA and that's the basis for our obligations to Taiwan," he said.
The official also said Bush reiterated Washington's position on the "one China" policy, but that such issues as the "three-no's" did not come up. That issue refers to a statement former president Bill Clinton made in Shanghai in 1998 during a state visit to China in which he declared the policy of no Taiwan independence, no "one China, one Taiwan" and no Taiwan membership in organizations that require statehood as a requisite.
While the Bush administration has failed to reiterate the "three no's," it has not abandoned it, either.
Taiwan and the arms sales issue, which were central to lengthy discussions Qian had with Secretary of State Colin Powell on Wednesday, took a back seat Thursday. The issue did not come up at all during a meeting between Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and Qian, according to Pentagon spokesman Craig Quigley.
Bush and Qian seemed to focus on advancing their bilateral relations, seeking "common ground" as they work through differences.
Qian made "no threats during the visit" at the White House, the US official said, referring to Qian's earlier comments in New York that US sales of advanced weapons to Taiwan could elicit a swift military response against Taiwan by Beijing.
In turn, Bush told Qian that "nothing we do is a threat to you," a reference to Chinese concerns that a planned US national missile defense (NMD) system could negate China's ability to retaliate for any US missile attack against China.
"I can look you in the eye and tell you, we can have good relations with China," Bush was quoted as saying to Qian by a senior US official.
"To maintain friendly relations and cooperation between China and the United States is in the interest of Asia, the Pacific Region and the world at large," Qian said before the meeting. "I'm sure ways can be found to solve all the problems," he said.
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