TRANSCRIPT: SEC. ALBRIGHT OCTOBER 28 REMARKS AND Q&A ON CHINA
(Albright discusses goals for U.S.-China summit)

Washington -- Secretary of State Albright told reporters at the State Department October 28 that the U.S. hopes the October 29 summit between President Bill Clinton and Chinese President Jiang Zemin will "establish what we think is an important way of working -- which is regular summits that allow us to have at head-of-state level the kinds of discussions that are appropriate between the United States and another large power."

There has not been a U.S.-China summit since the 1989 massacre of pro-democracy advocates during demonstrations in Tiananmen Square.

Despite the tensions between the United States and China regarding the protection of human rights, summit discussions will not be "held hostage" to any single issue, Albright said. She emphasized that the United States has a huge, multi-faceted agenda with China.

"Our engagement with China is a long-term process, the results of which will be visible over time," Albright said. The United States hopes to garner Chinese cooperation on issues such as nuclear nonproliferation, regional security, trade, environment, technology, terrorism, and international narcotics trafficking, she said.

A top U.S. priority, the Secretary of State said, is "to encourage the emergence of a China that is stable, open, and non-aggressive, that embraces free markets, political pluralism and the rule of law, and that works with us to build a secure international order and progress in protecting human rights."

Albright said she finds it "encouraging that China has decided to invite three prominent American religious leaders to visit China to discuss the climate for religious freedom for all religions, including Buddhist, Christians and Muslims in that country." The three Americans invited are Don Argue, president of the National Association of Evangelicals, The Most Reverend Thomas McCarrick, the Catholic Archbishop of Newark, and Rabbi Arthur Schneier, president of the Appeal of Conscience Foundation.

Albright acknowledged that while the United States will never be able to have "a normal relationship" with China until issues on protecting human rights are settled, she also emphasized that "in our relations with China, engagement is not the same as endorsement. Our approach includes frank talks about differences."

Albright added that she intends to name a special coordinator for Tibet before November 1. The job of the coordinator will be to encourage dialogue between Tibet and China on human rights and religious freedoms issues.

In response to a question about the Middle East, Albright emphasized the need to quickly establish a concise timetable for renewed Middle East peace talks. "Time is not really on the side of those who want there to be results," she said. The United States has been pushing for talks this month between U.S., Israeli, and Palestinian Authority leaders. She noted that she spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu October 28 and said "I do think the Prime Minister wants results."

Following is the State Department transcript:

(begin transcript)

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Office of the Spokesman

REMARKS BY SECRETARY OF STATE MADELEINE K. ALBRIGHT
ON U.S.-CHINA SUMMIT
October 28, 1997

SECRETARY ALBRIGHT: Good afternoon. I wanted to come down here and say just a few words today, on the eve of the U.S.-China Summit, regarding President Jiang's trip and the importance of our bilateral relations.

Later today, I will pay a visit to the Blair House to welcome President Jiang and his delegation to Washington. Both President Clinton and I are looking forward to our meetings, and to continuing our strategic dialogue with China.

We expect the discussions this week to be candid and comprehensive. Our engagement with China is a long-term process -- the results of which will be visible over time.

We do, however, hope for some progress this week in expanding cooperation in areas that matter to our people and to China's. As President Clinton said in his speech last Friday, the United States wants to encourage the emergence of a China that is stable, open and non- aggressive; that embraces free markets, political pluralism and the rule of law; and that works with us to build a secure international order.

Our purpose over the long term is to achieve practical outcomes such as continued cooperation on Korea; nuclear nonproliferation and regional security; encouraging China's entry into the World Trade Organization on commercially viable terms; and improving the prospect that China will respond positively to our concerns about violations of internationally recognized human rights.

On this last point, I find it encouraging that China has decided to invite three prominent American religious leaders to visit China to discuss the climate for religious freedom for all religions, including Buddhists, Christians and Muslims in that country. The leaders are Don Argue, the President of the National Association of Evangelicals; the Most Reverend Thomas McCarrick, the Catholic Archbishop of Newark; and Rabbi Arthur Schneier, President of the Appeal of Conscience Foundation.

This decision is a welcome step in the direction of openness; and political and economic openness is, in our judgment, the best path to the future not only for China, but for all nations.

In closing, let me stress that in our relations with China, engagement is not the same as endorsement. Our approach includes frank talks about differences. When warranted, it includes targeted sanctions or other appropriate measures to make tangible our disapproval. But it also includes an active search for areas where we can work with China for our own benefit and that of the region and the world.

We do not base our China policy on any sweeping assumption -- pessimistic or optimistic -- about the future. But we will not make an undesirable outcome more likely by treating it as inevitable. Regardless of the choices we make, China will continue to be a rising force. The history of this century teaches us the wisdom of inviting such a power into the mainstream as a responsible participant in the international system, rather than consigning it to a divergent path.

It's in that spirit of seriousness, respect and determination that we welcome the Chinese delegation to Washington, and that we look forward to our discussions tomorrow.

QUESTION: Madame Secretary, if you'll pardon a question in another area, I'm taking the opportunity of your presence. You had hope to get three-way talks going on the Middle East by the end of the week. The spokesman yesterday seemed a bit irritated with Israel's prolonged deliberations. Time's a-wasting was his basic theme. The Israeli Ambassador says the purpose is to make sure that when the Foreign Minister comes here, he has positions. Could you reflect on that a bit with us, and tell us if there is any -- when you think the talks might start?

SECRETARY ALBRIGHT: Yes, well, I spoke to Prime Minister Netanyahu this morning about the subject, and to talk with him about the necessity of moving this process forward and trying to make sure that we're able to proceed on a fairly rapid schedule here. We had hoped -- as you know, Barry -- to bring the people here. These were the meetings that we had worked out both when I was in the region, and then up in the United Nations.

We're still pushing to have these meetings take place. So I think that what we're all concerned about is that time is kind of petering out here, and that time is really not on the side of those who want there to be results. We have a limited window, and we hope very much that we can use the time in an appropriate way. So I think that we would like to have the people here, or have them have some authority to make decisions and move the process forward. And that is what I did talk to the Prime Minister about.

Q: A very fast follow-up. Are you confident, having talked to him, that the Prime Minister does want results?

SECRETARY ALBRIGHT: I think, yes, I am. I do think the Prime Minister wants results. I think that he is -- certainly in my conversation with him, and the previous conversations I've had and the ones that Dennis had in the region would indicate that.

I think that what we're all concerned about is that we need to keep this on a fairly concise timetable. I am particularly concerned about the fact that the time seems to be dragging out a little bit more than I would have liked.

Q: Madame Secretary, in announcing the visit of three religious leaders from this country to China for a fact-finding mission, does that in any way change perhaps the tenor of what will be said to the Chinese as regards the whole issue of human rights? In other words, does it in some way soften the message that will be taken to President Jiang?

SECRETARY ALBRIGHT: No. I think that we see this as an encouraging development. First of all, they did also free Bishop Su; and interestingly enough, the Asia Watch report of the last ten days or so had said that the level of religious discrimination had lowered. Let's see if I can get this into an English sentence. There was less discrimination on a religious basis than previously. So they gave them somewhat better marks.

So those several events together, I think, are encouraging. But it in no way, I think, lessens the President's or my determination to push on the human rights issue. The human rights issues are of great importance to the United States. I have said that we will never have a completely normal relationship with China until we're able to have them deal in an appropriate way with the human rights questions.

But at the same time, I think it's very important, as you look at the agenda for the summit, to realize how many topics we have to talk to the Chinese about that are of importance to both our countries. First of all, I think that it's very important to have this strategic dialogue and talk about a whole set of issues that affect regional stability; and talk about the things that we can do together, such as in Korea. We want to talk, obviously, and do something about nonproliferation. We will also be having discussions on environment and energy, technology, questions to do with drugs. We will have a whole host of issues to discuss, and talk about mutual cooperation in military-to-military talks.

We believe that having a summit is a very important step in terms of engaging this huge power, as the President has said, and as I have said. But I can assure you that while we regard this movement on the religious leaders as something positive and helpful, it does not take care of our human rights agenda.

Q: Madame Secretary, you just pointed out that this doesn't take care of your human rights agenda. There have been no dissidents -- none of the major dissident political prisoners -- freed by China in advance of this visit. Today on Capitol Hill and elsewhere, some of these former dissidents are going to be featured. Are you disappointed that China has not released any political prisoners on the eve of the summit? Are you going to ask them to release some tomorrow? Are you going to ask the President of China to release political prisoners?

SECRETARY ALBRIGHT: Well, we have been talking to them about this over the time that it's taken to prepare the summit; also, obviously, before. We would like them to take some action. We will see where this goes.

I am not prepared to characterize where we are at this moment, because this is an ongoing dialogue, and we'll see. I think we would like them to understand the importance that America places on the release of political prisoners and dissidents. We would also like them to understand other aspects of our human rights agenda; that is to sign the various covenants and to allow for Red Cross visits to try to make sure that they abide by, or work towards abiding by, a rule of law.

But as we have also said regarding the summit, it is a snapshot, or one frame, of what is a long-running movie. I think that it is important for us to understand that; but it's also important for the Chinese. They will certainly get the message, as they meet with all of us and travel around the United States, that human rights is a very important part of our agenda with them.

Q: Madame Secretary, given what's been going on the last few days in the international markets, do you intend to discuss your view of economics in China and perhaps offer some insight into things they might do to avoid the reverberations of what's going on in the rest of Asia?

SECRETARY ALBRIGHT: Well, clearly there will be discussions of economic issues; and clearly we are very concerned about the economic, political and financial stability in Southeast Asia -- as we are in all regions of the world that are vital to the United States. But I am not going to discuss more specifically what our discussions will be with them on the financial aspects of this.

Q: Madame Secretary, do you expect that you are going to announce the Tibetan coordinator soon, before November 1? Or is this something that you're still mulling over? And to follow up on the human rights questions that were asked, is there any specific direction you're looking for the discussion with the President of the United States, as well as Mr. Jiang, to go in? Is there anything specific you'd like to see come out, just on a discussion basis, about human rights?

SECRETARY ALBRIGHT: Well, first of all, on the coordinator for Tibet, I am determining who the appropriate person for the position is. I hope to be able to announce it before November 1; that is my plan. But I am mulling over the appropriate person.

Basically, obviously, the issue of Tibet will come up during our discussions. We obviously believe that that is an important part of the dialogue that we have with the Chinese, in hopes that they will have a dialogue with Tibet. So that is important to us.

What we expect to come out of this, as I've said, I don't want to prejudge exactly what the specific results will be. But I think that they will understand -- probably even more than they already do -- the importance of the human rights issue to us. But I hope all of you understand the following thing. And that is that while, as I have stated, there will never be a completely normal relationship with China until the human rights agenda is dealt with appropriately, we have a huge agenda with China. It is a multi-faceted one. I won't go through all the facets with you again, but it is one that we intend to pursue actively, because we believe it's important to engage with this huge growing power; that it is the responsibility of the United States to engage with a country the size and importance of China. We have a lot of national interests to discuss. We have a lot of subjects that are of importance to us. And while human rights is clearly an important subject for every American, and in order to pursue policies anywhere, we have to be true to ourselves, we have to understand that -- and as I said, engagement is not endorsement -- we have many subjects to discuss. This summit is an important one because it, we hope, will establish what we think is an important way of working, which is regular summits that allow us to have, at head-of-state level, the kinds of discussions that are appropriate between the United States and another large power.

Q: Madame Secretary, are you worried, though, that human rights will overshadow the other aims of the summit, when you consider what's going on on the Hill, the protests that are going on everywhere? And secondly, among those aims, is there an aim of having a strategic partnership with China? And what would that mean?

SECRETARY ALBRIGHT: Well, first of all, I hope that as people write about the summit and assess the summit, that all will understand that our relationship with China is one that covers a broad range of issues.

I have said this before, and I think that those people that know me know that I am a champion of human rights. And as such, I am saying that we cannot have our relationship with China held hostage to any one single issue. We have to really pursue the issues very strongly. We have to make our statements very clear so that there is no doubt about where we are. But I think it's absolutely essential that the American people understand the importance of pursuing a broad and multi-faceted relationship with China in which -- to get to your second part of the question -- we can pursue a deepening cooperation with them on a series of issues, some of which are of strategic importance to us. So there is definitely a strategic component to our discussion.

But what I really think is so important -- I believe that the American people really can sort out what it is about the relationship that is important, and how we can carry it forward -- that it cannot -- while human rights is obviously, as I've said, key to the American value system, and no relationship with any country can be completely normal until that is worked out -- that there are issues that are of major importance to us. The nonproliferation agenda is a very large agenda. The Chinese -- if you look at the record over the last few years, you can see a change, a sea change, in the way that they are approaching their responsibilities as a nuclear power towards the rest of the world, in terms of signing up to the various nonproliferation regimes, not just in the nuclear area -- with NPT and CTBT -- but the Chemical Weapons Convention and then putting on export controls. They generally are coming very much more into the whole regime of controlling weapons of mass destruction.

I think that it's very important to see the advances in that area. We've made some substantial progress there, and we hope to be able to make it possible for the President to be able to make a judgment on this and to make the necessary certifications. So I hope that there is not an underestimation of the importance of what has been happening generally in the relationship that we have with the Chinese in this particular area; and in the other areas that we are going to be working on, which is environment and energy cooperation, on dealing with issues of international corruption, terrorism, drug trafficking -- the whole host of trans-national threats that we have to deal with. So this is not a one-issue summit; this is a broad-based summit, which is to show the importance of having a broad-based and multi-faceted relationship with a country the size and importance of China.

Thank you all very much.

(end transcript)

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