A Split Inside China
The leaders I met with were very frank about a growing domestic problem – the disparity between urban and rural residents. A Chinese member of congress told me that many people from rural areas are working in the city and then returning to their hometowns out in the country. She called these people "floaters" because they float in and out of Beijing. While in the city, they are exposed to a better life. They return home and are frustrated by the limited opportunities in rural areas. This has taken on new intensity in the past year with a few organized protests in rural communities. The Chinese say they want everyone to have access to a better life but don’t seem to know how to deal with the social problems this entails.
Energy
China's demand for energy is affecting energy prices around the world and China's environment. Between 1995 and 2005, China’s energy consumption grew 80 percent. Chinese leaders are aggressively investing in areas like fusion, but they know they have a long way to go.
In the meantime, China’s energy demands have led the country to seek energy partnerships with countries like Sudan, Iran and Burma that have questionable human rights practices and pose other foreign policy challenges to the United States and the world. We spent a lot of time talking about energy – and its consequences – in our meetings.
Women in China
As the only woman from the United States delegation, I particularly enjoyed talking to the two women members of the Chinese delegation.
The first was Fang Xin who is an expert on energy.
The second was Xin Chunying, who is the NPC Vice Chairman of the Legislative Affairs Commission. Her expertise is law, and in particular the laws surrounding Intellectual Property Rights and the Internet - two areas of special interest to Washington State and our high tech industry.
Ms. Xin told me that the role of women lawyers in China has changed in the past few years. (She herself had attended Harvard and Yale before returning to China and working in government there). In the past, women lawyers were referred to by the Chinese word for "turtles" – because women lawyers would have a long and productive life. But now a different word is being used – one that means "cabbage" – because women lawyers are now facing a lot of competition from male lawyers and are seeing their prospects slip.
Generational Shifts?
Many of China's senior leaders are of an older generation. Seniority carries tremendous weight in Chinese culture and government. On this trip, I noticed that the Chinese made a point of inviting some of their younger leaders to our bilateral meetings because they are trying to develop a new generation of leadership.
Setting an Example – Two Parties Working Together
For part of the trip, I got to co-chair the U.S. delegation and had a chance to show our hosts how two different political parties can work together.
Senator Ted Stevens (R-AK) and Senator Daniel Inouye (D-HI) led the bipartisan group of nine US Senators to China as the American co-chairs of the U.S.-China Interparliamentary Group. Halfway through the trip, I served as the Democratic leader of the trip and jointly led the U.S. Senate delegation with Senator Stevens during all of the subsequent events and meetings with our Chinese counterparts.
Senator Stevens has a long and unique history with China, having served as part of the Flying Tigers in China during World War II. His service during that time period was widely acknowledged during our trip, which gave him the gravitas to bring up many difficult subjects and be accorded the respect necessary for these difficult conversations.
During most of our meetings, Senator Stevens would speak and then turn the floor over to me as the top Democrat on the trip. During several meetings, I spoke on behalf of the entire U.S. delegation. I think we demonstrated to the Chinese, whose government is run by one party, how two different political parties can work together and respect each other.
Personal Relationships
On the trip I got a chance to reconnect with an old friend in the Chinese government. For me, he is an example of the importance of personal relationships in dealing with other governments. I first learned this lesson during my last trip to China in the late 1990s when I experienced a very personal loss.
In 1997, I traveled to China with a group of Washington state leaders. While there, I received a call through the U.S. Embassy letting me know that my father had become very ill and had suddenly passed away. After returning to my hotel room, I received a visit from a Chinese official named Yang Jiechi. Mr. Yang expressed his heartfelt and sincere condolences to me on the passing of my father. This was not a bureaucrat going through the motions. This was a very human and touching moment that meant a great deal to me at a difficult time. In fact, it was the most human moment I had ever experienced in a foreign country, and I have never forgotten it.
I did not hear from Mr. Yang again until he became the Chinese Ambassador to the U.S. four years later. Like the first moment we met, the event that brought us together this time was also tragic. In April 2001, a U.S. Navy plane was intercepted by a Chinese aircraft in international waters outside China. After making a series of very close passes, the Chinese plane hit the American plane, killing the Chinese pilot and requiring the U.S. plane to make an emergency landing in China. The Chinese held the American crew, stationed at the Whidbey Island Naval Air Station, for many days.
This incident set off an international confrontation and created an incredible amount of tension between the U.S. and China. After watching with frustration the difficulty our country was having negotiating with the Chinese and the demands and denunciations being issued by members of Congress, all to no avail, I decided to invite the Chinese Ambassador to my office for a face to face meeting to discuss the situation. When now-Ambassador Yang and I sat down, we reflected on his visit to my hotel room four years prior, and because of the relationship we had established then, were able to have a frank discussion. I expressed my strong desire for the return of the American crew and he told me about the Chinese concern for its lost pilot and the unapproved landing.
Shortly after our meeting, I proudly welcomed home the American crew at Whidbey Island. While I am not implying that my meeting brought about the release of the American crew – much of the credit belongs to the deft work done by the State Department and a carefully worded letter from the US Ambassador - the meeting demonstrated to me the importance of relationships and always having an open door, no matter how difficult the issue at hand.
On this trip, I saw Mr. Yang again at a meeting with President Hu. Today, he's the Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs and could become the next Foreign Minister of China. That just proved for me once again that having personal relationships across government is critical.
Overall it was an important trip that gave me new insights into the challenges the Chinese are facing, allowed me to raise important issues for our state and helped me build relationships that will payoff for us in the years to come.
~ Patty
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