Week of January 19, 2001

• U.S.-CHINA RELATIONS: Colin Powell Speaks on China during Senate Confirmation Hearing
• U.S.-CHINA RELATIONS: U.S. Missile Defense Risks Arms Race with China, Analysts Say
• INTERNATIONAL: Li Peng Concludes India Visit, Coincides with India Missile Test-Fire
• INTERNATIONAL: North Korean Leader Visits China
• DOMESTIC: Chinese Muslims Mourn Death of Six during Demonstration

Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Zhu Bangzao on Tuesday called on the U.S. to abandon NMD, which he said would “undermine the global strategic balance.?amp;nbsp; Chu Shulong, a senior researcher at the Modern International Relations Research Institute, a Chinese government think tank, said there is a question over the feasibility of NMD, and questions on whether there is domestic support for developing such a system in the U.S. “Democrats in Congress may be even more reluctant to support it than they were under Clinton,?Chu said.
 

However, Li’s visit to India and meetings with Indian Prime Minister Atal Bahari Vajpayee, are considered by analysts to indicate a new direction in bilateral ties toward a common perception of a new global order.  In addition, analysts see Li’s visit during a time when there has not been any new breakthrough in relations as a signal of China’s recognition that it can no longer continue to ignore India’s growing economic and military influence in Asia and the world.  Despite the positive prospects of the visit, no concrete measures were taken to resolve remaining disagreements on contentious issues.

Upon the conclusion of Li’s trip, India successfully test-fired its nuclear-capable Agni-II intermediate ballistic missile for the second time.  Upon receipt of this news, China’s foreign ministry stated that they had taken note of the launch and would work with the international community to prevent an arms race in South Asia.

South Korea’s Yonhap news agency quoted Chinese sources as maintaining that Kim arrived in Shangai on Monday, that he would tour that city’s Pudong industrial zone, and that he would visit Shenzhen, where China launched reform in the 1980s. A Seoul newspaper said Kim brought about 20 officials with him, including Jo Myong-rok, head of the General Political Department of the army. Jo visited Washington, D.C. in October. Another South Korean newspaper said Kim would visit with Chinese President Jiang Zemin and Premier Zhu Rongji. On Wednesday, Kim visited a Shanghai Buick plant operating in a joint venture with General Motors, and also the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

Kim’s last visit to China was understood by many as having paved the way for his June summit in Pyongyang with South Korean leader Kim Dae-jung.

According to the Hong Kong-based Information Center for Human Rights and Democracy, up to 10,000 Falun Gong followers are being held in Chinese labor camps and 98 members have died in police custody. The Chinese government maintains that 242 Falun Gong followers are in jail and an unspecified number are in labor reeducation camps for disrupting social order by participating in illegal demonstrations. It maintains that nobody is in a labor camp purely for being a Falun Gong follower.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong immigration officials last weekend deported 13 Falun Gong members who tried to attend a conference in the province, where Falun Gong is legal. A Hong Kong government official said the authorities warned Falun Gong over “offensive?political statements made at the conference, held in a government facility. The government says the purpose of the conference was supposed to be to discuss culture and religion.