Heritage Foundation Leadership for America

Conservative Statement of Principles on China Policy

WHEREAS a stable and prosperous Asia is in the national interest of the United States;

WHEREAS American interests include freedom of the seas, access to markets and the prevention of one hostile power or a group of powers from dominating the region to the exclusion of American influence and interests;

WHEREAS the U.S. is increasingly dependent upon trans-Pacific commerce and trade for its own economic well-being;

WHEREAS the rapid increase in China's military capabilities, particularly the production and export of weapons of mass destruction, at a time of expanding economic power under a repressive authoritarian system, is contrary to the long-term interests of free people throughout the world;

WHEREAS the U.S. must maintain adequate defense capabilities that will allow it to meet its security commitments to protect American interests and advance American values;

WHEREAS the advancement of freedom in Asia in all its forms, including religious liberty, freedom of conscience, and economic freedom, is a guiding value of U.S. foreign policy;

The U.S. should adhere to the following principles with respect to U.S. policy toward Taiwan, Hong Kong, and China:

REPUBLIC OF CHINA ON TAIWAN (ROC)

1. The main U.S. objectives in its policy toward Taiwan are to support individual freedom and democracy and to encourage a mutually acceptable and peaceful resolution of differences between the ROC and the People's Republic of China, that does not limit individual freedom and political democracy.

2. The U.S. must consider any effort to determine the future of Taiwan by other than peaceful means, including boycotts and embargoes, to be a threat to the peace and security of the Western Pacific and a grave concern to American interests.

 3. The U.S., as called for in the Taiwan Relations Act, should maintain its commitment to the self-defense of the Republic of China and to sell Taiwan necessary defensive arms, including a theater missile defense.

4. The U.S. must maintain the military capability and will to resist any use of force or any other type of coercion that would jeopardize the security or social and economic system of the people of Taiwan.

HONG KONG

1. As stated in the 1992 U.S.-Hong Kong Policy Act, the U.S. should play an active role in maintaining Hong Kong's confidence and prosperity, protecting American commercial interests, and suppporting democratization as a fundamental principle in U.S. foreign policy.

2. It is in the interest of the United States that Hong Kong maintain control over its own economic, social, and political order. Democracy must not be curtailed and human rights, including religious liberty, must be respected.

3. China should strictly adhere to the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration and the PRC's own Basic Law of 1990.

PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA (PRC)

1. The ultimate objective of U.S. policy is a stable, democratic, and prosperous China.

2. U.S. policy should aim to expand the scope of personal freedom, including religious liberty, and to quicken the pace of political and economic reform in China.

3. The United States should support China's economic reforms, which expand areas of freedom and reduce the intrusiveness of the state, but it must enforce U.S. laws and regulations condemning slave labor and forbidding the import of goods produced by such labor.

4. The U.S. should distinguish between trade with firms of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) and China's state-owned enterprises; PLA firms should be identified and trade with them should be discouraged.

5. The United States should assist China in its own efforts to move internally toward a rule of law and externally to be governed by internationally accepted norms of conduct, to include signing, ratification and observance of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

6. Greater efforts must be made to counter China's proliferation of ballistic missiles, nuclear technologies, and destabilizing advanced conventional weaponry, particularly to the Persian Gulf, because they are a threat to world peace and to American and Asian security. U.S. licensing requirements on export of existing supercomputers and sensitive technologies which can facilitate China's military modernization must be tightened. U.S. allies must be enlisted to cooperate in this effort, and China should join the Nuclear Suppliers Group and observe its requirements.

7. Taxpayer-subsidized economic aid to China, such as through the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, does not encourage economic reform in China; U.S. support for programs such as these should be phased out.

8. The U.S. must maintain the capability and will to project military power in the region sufficient to deter adventurism by any regional entity and to preserve freedom of the seas.

 The attached Statement of Principles on China Policy has been endorsed by:

(Titles and affiliations are listed for identification purposes only.)