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PASTOR GENERAL'S REPORT, MAY 4, 1984
ON THE WORLD SCENE
CHINA-U.S. TIES: HONG KONG TO
GO:
SOVIET GAINS IN MIDDLE EAST President
Reagan's six-day visit to China is now history. The Chinese leadership
went to unprecedented lengths to accord Mr. Reagan a welcome more extensive
than that given any previous head of state.
Not that all went without a hitch. The Chinese authorities felt compelled
to edit the nationally telecast tapes of two addresses by Mr. Reagan. His
enthusiastic support for the growing but controlled role of capitalism in
the Chinese economy was expected. But his advice to "trust the people" as
being "the most powerful force for human progress in the world today" did
not reach the ears of China's 1,200,000,000 people.
His hosts also felt it was in their interest to remove the President's blunt
remarks concerning the Soviet Union, including his reference to the tragedy
of Korean Airlines Flight 007 ("shooting 269 innocent people out of the
sky") and Soviet actions elsewhere ("the brutal occupation of Afghanistan,
the crushing of Cambodia"). The current Chinese leaders were not about to
give the appearance of being drafted into any type of anti-Soviet crusade.
Privately, of course, there was a considerable meeting-of-the-minds--as
well as "fatherly" words of caution from 79-year-old Deng Xiaoping to the
72-year-old Mr. Reagan. This was reported by David Ignatius, traveling
with the President and writing in the April 30 WALL STREET JOURNAL.
During a private meeting on Saturday, Deng Xiaoping, the Chinese
leader, cautioned Mr. Reagan that he should moderate his policies
toward the Soviets to avoid antagonizing U.S. allies. According
to an official who was present during the meeting, the message of
Mr. Deng, who is something of an anti-Soviet hawk himself, was:
"Don't overdo it." •••
Mr. Deng, slouching in his chair and chain-smoking, delivered
what U.S. officials said was a friendly critique of Mr. Reagan's
foreign policy. An official who was present during the meeting
said Mr. Deng agreed with the U.S. president that the Soviet
Union is "expansionist" and "hegemonic," and said he didn't
object to Mr. Reagan's defense buildup. "You have to do this.
You have done a great deal," one U.S. official quoted Mr. Deng as
saying of the military buildup. This private acceptance of U.S.
rearmament contrasts with China's public criticism.
But the 79-year-old Chinese leader warned Mr. Reagan that his
hawkish policies toward Moscow could backfire
,ey
undermining
support for the U.S. among its friends. A U.S. official quoted
Mr. Deng as saying: "If you do things correctly, then everyone
will work with you and you will be able to contain the other side.
But if you don't do things correctly, you're just playing into
their hands."
The Chinese, of course, want to see a strong NATO alliance between the U.S.
and Western Europe preserved. This ties down the Soviets in Europe, pre
venting them from having a freer hand in Asia. Nevertheless, the Chinese
felt nervous about Mr. Reagan's remarks about the Soviet threat, according