China's Premier Wen Jiabao (溫家寶) was due to arrive in the US yesterday seeking reassurances from Washington it will rein in Taiwan and bracing for US criticism of Beijing's trade and currency policies.
Wen, during his four-day visit to snow-swept New York, Washington and Boston, would be prepared to talk tough on recent US trade sanctions but would bring a broader message stressing economic cooperation, analysts and officials said.
Chinese officials publicly underlined that overall Sino-US relations were good ahead of the visit by Wen, the highest ranking Chinese leader to visit the US since March when Beijing wrapped up a sweeping power transition to a younger generation headed by President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤).
But Taiwan has emerged as a cloud over ties between the two nations, one that risks undermining Chinese support for US efforts like the war on terror and the North Korean nuclear crisis, analysts said.
Tensions have risen across the Taiwan Strait since last month, when the Legislative Yuan debated and then passed a law allowing referendums, and President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) has said he would push for a "defensive referendum" in March polls.
Last week, Chinese military officials threatened war if Taiwan moved toward independence -- even at the risk of boycotts of the 2008 Beijing Olympics and economic recession.
On Saturday a presidential spokesman said Chen plans a referendum calling on China to withdraw ballistic missiles aimed at Taiwan and renounce the use of force against it.
Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Zhou Wenzhong (周文重) has said Wen, who meets Bush tomorrow in Washington, would seek a more forceful statement that the US was clearly "opposed" to what China regards as Taiwan independence moves.
That would mark a nuanced but significant shift from the US line that it "does not support" independence moves, analysts said.
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