The Chinese government is not spelling out the Taiwan connection in its vociferous public condemnations of the Nato action in Yugoslavia. But the subtext is clear in statements and newspaper editorials charging that the Nato air strikes are an affront to the sovereignty of an independent country and the authority of international law. The language parallels that used in Chinese statements about Taiwan and Tibet. Outside the government, top Chinese commentators make the link explicit. The main factor tempering the American urge to intervene would, he says, be the fact that China is a nuclear power.
China has good reasons to court rather than confront the U.S., primarily economic ones.
China's bid to enter the World Trade Organization is at the top of the economic agenda. So is keeping open the U.S. market for Chinese exports. But Chinese analysts say that for Beijing, all these issues are secondary to Taiwan. Still, no one has suggested that Zhu cancel his trip. China has an engagement policy, too.