TRANSCRIPT: PRESIDENT CLINTON ON U.S.-CHINA POLICY AFTER DENG
(Looks forward to Albright, Gore trips upcoming)

Washington -- President Clinton said February 20 that the United States expects "basic continuity" in U.S.-China policy following the death of Deng Xiaoping.

Asked at a White House ceremony on a Medicaid initiative if he saw any change in China policy, the President said, "Deng Xiaoping set in motion a process which has been well underway for more than two years now. And I think that is something that we can all appreciate, that there has been a basic continuity there."

"So I think that our policy is the right policy," Clinton said. "We will continue to engage strongly with China. I look forward to all the meetings which are going to occur, including Secretary Albright's trip and then the Vice President's trip later, and then the exchange of visits by the two Presidents. The policy we are following of engaging with China, to work where we agree and to honestly air our disagreements and work through them, is the right policy for the people of the United States and, indeed, for the world in the 21st century."

Following is the complete White House transcript of Clinton's February 20 Q&A with reporters on China:

(begin transcript)

Q: Mr. President, do you see any change in policy with China now that Deng is dead?

A: We expect basic continuity here. The Chinese, perhaps mindful of some of the problems they've had in their long history of transitions -- Deng Xiaoping set in motion a process which has been welll underway for more than two years now. And I think that is something that we can all appreciate, that there has been a basic continuity there.

So I think that our policy is the right policy. We will continue to engage strongly with China. I look forward to all the meetings which are going to occur, including Secretary Albright's trip and then the Vice President's trip later, and then the exchange of visits by the two Presidents. The policy we are following of engaging with China, to work where we agree and to honestly air our disagreements and work through them, is the right policy for the people of the United States and, indeed, for the world in the 21st century. If you can imagine what the world will look like 30 years from now, 40 years from now, we can do nothing other than what we are doing. It is the right thing to do.

(end transcript)