The saga of a U.S. aircraft carrier being denied entry to Hong Kong at Thanksgiving took a bizarre turn Nov. 29, when China denied saying the whole affair had been a misunderstanding. The White House said Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi had told President George W. Bush as much Nov. 28.
The Defense Department said it had issued a formal complaint to China and that Beijing still had not provided sufficient explanation for blocking the aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk, and eight ships traveling with it, entry to Hong Kong for a long-planned Thanksgiving holiday visit. China later changed its mind, but by then the carrier group was steaming back to Japan.
"Reports that Foreign Minister Yang said in the United States that it was a misunderstanding do not accord with the facts," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao told a news conference.
There has been speculation that China’s move to block the ships was related to irritation over U.S. plans to help Taiwan upgrade its missile system and a meeting between Bush and exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama.
"China approved the visit of the Kitty Hawk group to Hong Kong based on humanitarian reasons. The decision made by the U.S. later was up to them,” Liu said without elaborating. Liu also denied receiving a complaint from the U.S. "The Chinese side has not received any protest from the U.S. side. I don’t think there should be a protest on this issue," he said, suggesting reporters ask the U.S. why its officials decided not to send the ship to Hong Kong after China approved the visit.
Beijing’s action came as a surprise just weeks after a visit to China by U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates that has been described by U.S. officials as positive. China-U.S. relations have improved since 2001, when their militaries broke contact following a collision between a Chinese fighter jet and U.S. spy plane.
But many differences remain over issues such as China’s military buildup and U.S. weapon sales to Taiwan. Liu said he thought generally that Sino-U.S. ties were developing well but expressed dissatisfaction with some recent U.S. actions. "We think that generally communication, talks and exchanges are progressing smoothly. Both sides have smooth communication on bilateral and international issues," he added. "But it should be pointed out that recently, bilateral relations have been interfered with and damaged by mistaken actions by the U.S. For example, U.S. leaders have met the Dalai Lama. Also on the Taiwan question, China approves of the U.S. opposing Taiwan’s U.N. entry referendum. At the same time, we have grave concern with U.S. arms sales to Taiwan."
