Issue: 685   Date: 10/09/2003 An Unexpected Alliance: China and the U.S. Combat Global Terrorism

By David Willard, Princeton University

Out of the smoke and rubble of the Twin Towers, a Pennsylvania field and the Pentagon emerged a resolute U.S. government. In the wake of September 11th, President Bush's "Axis of Evil" paradigm led directly to ambitious military campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq to thwart terrorism and oust reckless regimes. Elsewhere in terrorist-prone parts of the world, the U.S. has received counter-terrorism support from a host of nations. One nation in particular - quite ironically once described as a "strategic competitor" by the Bush administration - has surfaced as an unlikely - but no less salient - partner in the U.S. global war on terror. Hold your breath: it's China.

On the counter-terrorism front, China and the U.S. have forged a solidarity that, in many respects, has been unanticipated, particularly in light of long-standing tensions between the two powers. For many years, Washington has pressed China to improve its domestic human rights conditions. This human rights focus became particularly acute following the 1989 Tiananmen massacre in Beijing and the Chinese government's subsequent crackdown on political dissidents. Relations between the two countries quickly deteriorated, to a degree that -some suggested - was irreparable. Unfortunately, subsequent events only exacerbated those tensions. In 1999 NATO planes mistakenly bombed the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade, sparking massive and prolonged anti-U.S. protests in China. In addition, during this period the U.S. continued to provide Taiwan with weapons, angering Beijing and precipitating tense military stand-offs in the Taiwan Strait. Add the incident of the EP-3 reconnaissance plane incident (and China's detention of the American crew) into the mix - not to mention a volatile North Korean situation - and one could foresee a lasting period of strained relations, at best, between the two countries. Despite these tensions, however, China has proven to be an important partner in the Bush administration's global War on Terror.

Shortly after September 11th, China publicly expressed its eagerness to join the U.S. in the War on Terror. In response to the terrorist attacks, China endorsed future Sino-U.S. counter-terrorism initiatives. Chinese President Jiang Zemin personally expressed condolences to President Bush and the American people and vowed to assist the U.S. in counter-terrorism efforts. In addition, China voted in the U.N. Security Council to ratify Resolution 1368, which "unequivocally condemned the terrorist attacks" and called for a "readiness to take all necessary steps to respond to the terrorist attacks." The following month, the Chinese Central Military Commission dispatched its Lanzhou Military Region Army Airborne Regiment and additional security forces to the Sino-Afghan border to block Taliban forces and Al-Qaeda terrorists from escaping to China. At the October 2001 APEC Summit Meeting in Shanghai, President Bush and President Jiang forged unexpected diplomatic successes, both agreeing on the need for bi-lateral efforts to combat terrorist organizations. Less than six months after the summit, China's Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan agreed to the establishment of an intelligence office for the FBI in the U.S. Embassy in Beijing. In return, Washington approved the creation of a representative office for a Chinese police division within the U.S. 

Before September 11th, these bi-lateral initiatives would have been virtually unimaginable. And yet, in literally a matter of weeks after the attacks, China and the U.S. joined together in a global strategy to combat terrorism. Can we categorize September 11th as a watershed in U.S.-China relations? Not quite. Most certainly, relations between Beijing and Washington have improved significantly during the past two years, and bi-lateral counter-terrorism initiatives have strengthened diplomatic ties; but bi-lateral and multi-lateral challenges remain. Most ominously, North Korea's nuclear weapons ambitions loom as an imposing obstacle. China fears a nuclear North Korea will spark a Pacific Rim arms race, directly threatening China's security. Conversely, a weaker - or toppled - North Korea could trigger a catastrophic refugee crisis on China's Manchurian doorstep. Another challenging problem is the continuing issue of human rights in China. Since September 11, China has relied upon the "War on Terror" as an expedient justification for its crackdown on the Uighur population, a Muslim minority group in China's northwestern Xinjiang-Uighur Autonomous Region. While Washington seeks China's cooperation in rooting out alleged terrorists, China often classifies "dissidents" and "terrorists" as synonymous terms. As a result, the Chinese government has carried out arbitrary detentions, persecutions, and even executions of non-violent Uighur dissidents. 

And yet for the time being, diplomatic ties between Washington and Beijing have struck an uncharacteristically optimistic note in the War on Terror. Tensions between the U.S. and China still exist on many fronts. Nevertheless, fighting international terrorism may prove to be a cohesive juncture in the days and years to come.