In his first public comments since returning from important two-day talks in Beijing earlier this month, US Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg did not sound overly optimistic about the future of the US-China relationship.
Asked if arms sales to Taiwan and the recent visit to the White House by the Dalai Lama could result in relations deteriorating before they get better, Steinberg sought to avoid the question.
PRIORITIES
Speaking about the “Foreign Policy Priorities of the Obama Administration” at a meeting of the Atlantic Council in Washington on Monday night, Steinberg said his visit to Beijing — on which he was accompanied by National Security Council Senior Director for Asian Affairs Jeff Bader — had resulted in “a very productive exchange with a broad range of important officials on the Chinese side.”
Significantly, he did not mention Taiwan at all, even though the arms sales — and Beijing’s stern opposition to them — are believed to have been a major topic in the talks.
He said the nature of the US-China relationship was now such that “we are able to have full exchanges,” “we hear each other out” and “explore each others’ concerns.”
At the same time, however, both sides understood that over some issues there were “differences of views.”
‘CONCERNS’
The closest he came to hinting at Chinese anger over the arms sales came when he said Beijing had expressed some “concerns.”
Without mentioning the Dalai Lama by name, he said the US hoped for an “environment for dialogue in which issues like the religious and cultural interests” of Tibetans could be addressed.
Summing up his meetings, Steinberg said: “None of us expect one set of conversations to be the answer to longstanding challenges, but there is a feeling on both sides that problems can be discussed and that is what diplomacy is all about.”
AGREE TO DISAGREE
A foreign policy expert with another Washington-based think tank said later on condition of anonymity: “Clearly, there were no major advances during the Beijing meetings. The two sides seem to have agreed to disagree about arms sales to Taiwan and perhaps that is the most that anyone could hope for, but it’s not very much.”
“Despite Steinberg’s reference to a ‘very productive exchange,’ I did not detect much optimism,” the expert said. “He was being decidedly low key.”
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