BEIJING — After a two-day visit to China billed as an opportunity to advance his second-term goal of spreading freedom, President Bush left the country today amid questions over how aggressively he had pressed the matter.
Before the trip, human rights advocates' expectations were high. Bush had scheduled an appearance at a Beijing church, had challenged China to become a more open society during a speech last week in Japan and had welcomed the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan spiritual and political leader whom Beijing perceives as a threat, to the White House.
But days before Bush's arrival, Chinese authorities apparently forced several high-profile dissidents to leave the capital in an effort to prevent negative publicity. Also, no political prisoners were released around the time of the visit, unlike previous U.S.-China summits. And U.S. officials apparently failed to persuade Beijing to air on state-controlled media all aspects of Bush's trip, particularly the church stop.
"We all understand that a system that is open and competitive politically is one that is moving toward democracy," U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said after Bush's meetings with Chinese President Hu Jintao and other leaders. "And there's no question but that China would have a ways to go to meet that test."
Bush's China trip, his third as president, underscored the challenge this country posed to the "freedom agenda" that is the centerpiece of Bush's second-term foreign policy.
The administration has focused intently on smaller countries such as Iraq, Syria and Myanmar in its quest to spread democracy. But China seems to operate in its own category as a fast-rising power with substantial economic influence on the U.S. One measure of that is the U.S. trade deficit with China, which approaches $200 billion.
Bush must also weigh the significance of China's recent moves to beef up its military, and he must balance the demands of domestic politics in which evangelical Christians want him to pursue right-to-worship issues more aggressively while business lobbyists want access to China's vast market. Both groups are key Republican Party constituents.
Bush invoked his freedom agenda today during a brief stop in Mongolia, a country of 2.8 million people nestled between China and Russia. The U.S. views Mongolia as an emerging democracy in a crucial region.
