China wants whatever is necessary to be a world power that is at least equal to the United States. And they are working toward this goal with the assistance of an influential political network based in the United States.
Politically, this means that China wants the privileges of a great power but without the obligations. Thus, China wants U.S. sponsorship of its membership in the major international organizations, such as the World Trade Organization, which set the rules of global engagement, including how member states treat their own people. Nevertheless, they want no U.S. interference at all. This includes unfavorable commentary in their internal governance, despite whether that involves the suppression of democracy, state-directed human rights abuses or the persecution of select groups such as dissidents, Christians, Buddhists and conquered subjects such as the people of Tibet. Nor does China want any U.S. interference as it violates international agreements, such as selling nuclear components to Pakistan and military rockets to Iran.Strategically, China wants superpower military status by the early 21st century. Already, the Chinese have the largest military buildup now under way in the world. This requires U.S. technology. Thus, China is aggressively getting U.S. military technology sometimes legally and sometimes not. For example, in 1994 Catic, one of China's giant state-owned companies, illegally bought machine equipment from McDonald Douglas, supposedly for making passenger aircraft but in fact to produce fighter planes. China has also obtained U.S. stealth technologies, guidance systems and motors for cruise missiles, command and control systems for its military forces and advanced computers. The FBI reports that China has thousands of spies in the United States who are actively acquiring other vital technologies, much of it military.
Economically, China wants to be the world's premier manufacturing power by the early 21st century. For this to be, China wants continued and unimpeded access to the rich U.S. market. The vast trade surplus that China has with the United States ($40 billion in 1996 alone) provides the Chinese with the hard currency they need to do business with the rest of the world.
To expand the flow of Chinese goods into the U.S. market, China is building a vast commercial infrastructure in America. One part of this is to have Cosco, China's giant state-owned shipping company, take over the Long Beach Naval Ship-yard and Port to handle a vastly increased flow of Chinese imports. Another part is for China to build throughout America a vast network of discount shopping malls, staffed by Chinese nationals, that will offer low-cost imports direct from Chinese factories.
The Chinese are building a million-square-foot prototype of these malls at the former George Air Force Base in California. Half this space will house more than 300 Chinese outlet stores. The other half will be a distribution center for other Chinese-operated malls elsewhere in the United States. A thousand workers from China will staff the California mall.
These projects are aided in great part by Americans.
While Chinese political donations to the 1996 political campaign of President Clinton and several members of Congress receive much attention, these contributions exert relatively little influence on U.S. policy. China's real political influence comes from two other sources: former U.S. officials in the pay of China and major U.S. companies doing business in China.
Over the past two decades, the Chinese government has established stout financial relationships with several former U.S. secretaries of state, assorted other high-ranking ex-officials and relatives of U.S. officeholders. The money relationship exists in several forms. They make some former officials - ex-Secretary of State Al Haig comes to mind - advisers to state-owned corporations, such as Cosco. Others - former national security adviser Henry Kissinger and ex-Defense Secretary Richard Cheney among them - make their money by opening doors in China for their U.S. and European clients. In their case, the clients pay.
They seek these ex-officials out because they are the architects of the current U.S. policy of "constructive engagement." Though out of office, these ex-officials continue to exert a profound influence upon U.S. China policy. Equally pernicious, officials still in office clearly see that the Chinese richly reward anyone who maintains the favor of China.
While the views of U.S. officials former and current may have little, if anything, to do with the source of their livelihood, all surely know that should they advocate a change in the status quo any profitable relationship with the Chinese government (current or future) will surely disappear.
China's lobbying muscle with Congress comes from American companies doing business with China. Simply put, these corporations are hostages. The Chinese are explicit about this. China's threat is that if the U.S. government takes any actions that displease the Chinese rulers, then Boeing, General Electric, Ford, General Motors and dozens of other U.S.-headquartered corporations may lose their Chinese investments and much of their China trade.
Consequently, the Chinese government hires few lobbyists in Washington. Rather, these hostage corporations advocate China's position. In 1993, for instance, U.S. companies persuaded Clinton to break his 1992 campaign promise and renew most-favored-nation status for China. Today, these same companies again are frantically lobbying Congress to renew the status and the president to support China's accession into the World Trade Organization.
Should Americans be concerned about China's quest for superpower status? Of course, we should. Tyrants who abuse their own people run China. They violate vital global pacts, such as those on nuclear proliferation, with impunity. This kind of behavior by a superpower would threaten world peace.
Should Americans be concerned about China's growing political influence in U.S. policymaking? Again, the answer is yes. We never allowed the Soviets to meddle in U.S. policymaking. If our China policy is to have any integrity, the same standard is required for China.
Finally, the vital issue that awaits a national debate is not whether we will be engaged with the Chinese. We already are. It is how and on what terms do we deal with an aggressive, corrupt and emerging superpower without sacrificing either the best interests of the United States or our national values.