But Clinton's trip altered relations in Asia in ways that we will long regret. Clinton genuinely seems to believe that it was a success. In his universe, where talk and personal contact are everything, his saying a few words and making many contacts launches a new era of Sino-American relations. His aides point proudly to his criticism of the Tiananmen massacre in a live news conference with Chinese President Jiang Zemin. But Clinton's criticism was tepid, defensive and rife with moral relativism.
Stability is the regime's code for avoiding the dangers of democracy.
It is the justification for dictatorship. Which is why Jiang craves legitimacy above all else. In his trip, Clinton bestowed it. The Chinese rulers want to maintain their power without democracy. For an arbitrary, highly repressive, often truculent regime to win such praise from the world's pre-eminent democracy is a priceless political asset.