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Chinese general’s isle visit
expected to warm relations

By Susan Kreifels
Star-Bulletin

The visit of a ranking Chinese general to the United States this month will rekindle the military relationship between the two countries that was disrupted by the U.S. bombing of the Chinese embassy in Yugoslavia last May, a high-ranking Chinese official said yesterday.

Zhaoxing Li, Chinese ambassador to the United States, also said he expects Hawaii to play a role in China's attempts to clean up the environment and in improving relations between the two countries.

Li is attending meetings in Honolulu this week of top U.S. and Chinese officials discussing the environment, science and technology.

The Jan. 24 visit of Lt. Gen. Xiong Guangkai, deputy chief of the People's Liberation Army general staff, is "very significant," said Li at a lunch hosted by the East-West Center, Friends of the East-West Center, and the Pacific and Asian Affairs Council.

The Chinese ambassador said Hawaii and China have close relations, both historic and current. More than 2,000 Chinese students have earned degrees here, he said.

Li criticized some politicians in Washington for promoting "China threat" fears that he said were not based on fact. He said China has a foreign policy of peace and defended the human rights record of his country.