Sentence:  Chen <WSD>was</WSD> equally adamant in his opposition to the admission of Outer Mongolia ; however the President , who would like to woo the former Chinese province away from both Peking and Moscow , would promise Chen nothing more than an abstention by the U. S. if Outer Mongolia 's admission comes to a vote . 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  have the quality of being; (copula, used with an adjective or a predicate noun)