Returning of U.S. crew members does not mean an end to dispute, some say

By Jonathan Sampson
Staff Reporter

After 11 days, the 24 American crew members who were forced to make an emergency landing on the island of Hainan are about to return home. But even with the return of the crew, strained relations may continue, causing concerns about U.S. relations with China and the changing economy, said Ralph Carter, TCU professor of political science.

China wants the United States to end reconnaissance missions over international waters near China, but the United States does not plan to change its current policy, an article on (CNN.com) reported Wednesday.

“This is not the conclusion of the case,” said Chen Ci, director of the foreign ministry in the Hainan province.

Mike Xu, assistant professor of Chinese, said that a public statement is one thing, but practice is something else. A reconnaissance plane has not flown in China airspace since the accident, he said.

But Carter said the incident is likely to have an impact on trade for the future.Carter said there has already been talk among some conservative Republicans in Congress that President Geroge W. Bush hasn’t been hard enough on the Chinese.

Congress might try to do something with Chinese trade, but there has been no indication so far as to what might happen, he said.

“We don’t know enough about the new Bush administration to know which way they will go,” Carter said.

Calvin Jillson, chairman of political science at Southern Methodist University, said neither country necessarily desires to continue the strong tensions, because there are more important issues that need to be addressed.

“I think both sides have magnified the problem, but each one wants to get beyond this and onto regular issues of trade,” he said.

Last year, the United States was Beijing’s top export market, with a trade surplus of $83 billion and U.S. businesses invested about $4 billion in China, Time magazine reported. According to the magazine, China needs that relationship because, to some extent, the leadership’s power rests on rising living standards that depend on growing trade.

John Finn, public affairs officer for the economics bureau of the State Department, said the returning crew will lessen the economic impact of the event, but he could not speculate on what might happen with future relations with China.

“The administration continues to support (World Trade Organization) membership with China and wants to move ahead on trade,” he said.

Virve Virtanen, manager of media relations for Nokia, said Nokia has manufacturing plants in China, but because they do not import or export between China and the United States, the current dealings do not have an affect on the company.

She said it would be speculation to comment on how Bush’s policies might affect the company in the future, but did say Nokia is closely following what is happening in many world markets.

Jonathan Sampson
j.m.sampson@student.tcu.edu