“China’s Military and Security Activities Abroad”
Prepared Statement of
John J. Norris
Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs
Testimony before the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission
March 4, 2009
Madame Chairman, Mr. Vice Chairman, members of the Commission, I appreciate the opportunity to join you today for this session on China’s Military and Security Activities Abroad. Deputy Assistant Secretary Sedney’s statement addresses specific questions that the Commission will be considering today. I would like to supplement that statement with a brief discussion of the overall policy context in which we evaluate China’s foreign and security policies.
In recent years the indicators of Chinese national power have climbed. China now has the world’s third largest economy and is the world’s second largest exporter. Its strategic interests have expanded, its influence has spread, and its global impact has grown apace. China is now also the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases. As China’s wealth and influence have expanded, its relevance to a variety of global and regional issues has also increased, and we intend to devote our time and energy to seeking positive and cooperative relations with China as such a complex and comprehensive relationship merits. As the Secretary said in her remarks to the Asia Society on February 13 and underscored throughout her Asian trip, a positive, cooperative relationship with China is essential to peace and prosperity not only in the Asia-Pacific region, but worldwide.
We have deep disagreements with the Chinese on some issues, such as human rights, Tibet, religious freedom, and freedom of expression. As Secretary Clinton said during her recent trip, the promotion of human rights is an essential aspect of our global foreign policy. We will explore multiple approaches beyond governments alone by reaching out to NGOs, businesses, religious leaders, schools, universities, as well as individual citizens, all of whom can play vital roles in creating a world where human rights are accepted, respected, and protected. As we continue to work toward resolving or narrowing such differences, we aim to pursue progress on common strategic challenges where we see a stronger platform for broader cooperation.
Secretary Clinton’s itinerary for her first overseas trip from February 15 through February 22 set our China policy within an important overall context. The United States is a Pacific power that intends to deepen our relationships across Asia with old friends and emerging powers. Our strong alliances form the bedrock of our Asian security policy, and indeed, our engagement with China is buttressed and made more effective by the close alliances and long ties we have in East Asia.
In her meetings with Chinese officials, the Secretary addressed our top foreign policy priorities, starting with the global financial crisis. It is not just an American crisis. Its repercussions are also being felt acutely in China and around the world. A recent Chinese Government survey reported that 20 million of the nation’s 130 million migrant workers are now unemployed. The United States and China agreed to continue close collaboration in addressing the global financial crisis. We must look to each other to take on leadership roles in designing and implementing a coordinated global response to stabilize the global economy and begin recovery. The Secretary invited Foreign Minister Yang to visit Washington in March to work with us to prepare for the April 2 London Summit on the global financial crisis.
The Secretary also raised a wide range of security issues, starting with the need to strengthen our efforts to address Asia’s common security threats. We will need to continue working together to address North Korea’s nuclear program, the most acute challenge to stability in Northeast Asia. The Obama Administration is committed to achieving the verifiable denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula in a peaceful manner, working through the Six-Party Talks, and the Secretary discussed with Chinese officials how best to move the current denuclearization process forward.
China is a member of the P5+1 group engaged in efforts to forestall Iran’s development of a nuclear weapons program, and we are looking for China to take further actions that support our objective of persuading Iran through diplomatic means to adhere to its obligations to the international community. We will also look to China to keep the pressure on Iran should it backslide or be unresponsive. The Secretary highlighted our desire to work together to combat extremism and promote stability in Afghanistan and Pakistan, to advance global counterterrorism efforts, and to pursue arms control and stem the spread of weapons of mass destruction. On all of these issues, we share a common interest, and we should look increasingly to act in concert.
During her Asia visit, the Secretary committed to devoting new effort to facing up to the problem of global climate change. While each of the countries she visited has a role to play in this effort, it is clear that China will need to be part of the solution. Collaboration on clean energy and greater energy efficiency also offers a real opportunity to deepen the overall U.S.-China relationship. The Secretary and Foreign Minister Yang agreed that the United States and China have a common interest in promoting consensus at the climate change talks to be held in Copenhagen this December, and they agreed to expand our existing cooperation to develop and deploy clean energy technologies designed to speed our transformation to low-carbon economies. We will hold regular consultations between senior officials in our governments on all elements of this broad collaboration.
Finally, the Secretary expressed our hope for further improvements in relations across the Taiwan Strait.
Relevant to this commission’s inquiry is the state of bilateral military-to-military discussions with China, and I’m sure that my colleague Mr. Sedney will offer more detail, as he has just returned from talks in Beijing last week. We believe that maintaining a steady engagement on defense and security issues is essential to building trust and expanding cooperation on all of the issues I have enumerated above. We have differences with some key elements of China’s security policy, including its conduct of trade, including arms trade with irresponsible regimes, as well as a lack of transparency about its military modernization. We meanwhile will continue to abide by our obligation under the Taiwan Relations Act to make available arms for Taiwan to maintain a sufficient self-defense capability.
Where we have differences, we will continue to make our viewpoint on such matters clear to the PRC, and we of course will defend our interests. But we cannot define our bilateral relationship on our differences to the detriment of possible progress on key U.S. priorities.
We believe China can play a helpful role in resolving key challenges, which, if left unaddressed, have negative implications not just for the United States, but for China and the world. This openness to cooperation will characterize the Administration’s policy toward China.