LONDON George W. Bush did not kowtow in Shanghai. He thanked Jiang Zemin for his support in the struggle against terrorism and, like Colin Powell, remarked that China and the United States were now friends. But Mr. Bush and General Powell made clear that they were not presenting Beijing with a blank check. ."The war against terrorism," President Bush said, "must never be an excuse to persecute minorities." He also said: "I stressed the need to combat the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and missile technology."

In his plainspeaking way, Mr.Bush struck at the two fundamental defects in the Chinese system - internally, the abuse of human rights, and externally, China as an arms supplier to terrorist states.

China is not by any measure a powerful military ally of the United States. Indeed, it is barely an ally at all. What Mr Bush required from Beijing was its approval of the American attack on the Taliban and the terrorist network it harbors in Afghanistan. Equally important was Chinese silence. China had to be persuaded not to oppose, as it usually does, intrusion into another country's sovereignty. So in Shanghai President Bush, as was expected, thanked President Jiang for his support in the struggle against terrorism. He did this knowing that China had called for support against "terrorists" and "separatism." This was certainly a reference to Muslims in northwest Xinjiang, and perhaps to Tibet.

What China expected was no further American criticism of its human rights record and, if things went really well, silence on China's arms trade. There are Americans who take the line that because of China's bulk and its potential for causing regional if not world instability, what would be publicly confronted in other nations must be dealt with, if at all, behind a screen in Beijing. This is not only shameful, it is unwise. China's instability is caused by its governance. Internally, Beijing has for years conducted terror against many of its citizens. I use the word "terror" deliberately. It has used violence selectively to frighten its people into obedience.

No form of organized opposition is permitted in China, although individual and some public criticism is permitted as long as the supreme leaders and the governing Communist Party are not singled out. Any religious grouping which declines to operate under the Communist Party's various "Patriotic" organs, whether Catholic, Protestant, Buddhist or Muslim, is criminalized, as is the Falun Gong. This policy affects many millions of believers in China, many of whose priests, monks and imams are in jail.

All the leaders of the Democratic Party in China are behind bars, and other significant dissidents, including the Dalai Lama, live in exile. In Xinjiang in particular, the vast majority of the 8 million Uighurs are moderate Muslims and long for real autonomy. A tiny number are terrorists, reportedly trained in Afghanistan and Chechnya. Beijing uses these militants as an excuse to make religious observance nearly impossible in Xinjiang.

Dru Gladney, an expert on the Uighurs at the University of Hawaii, says Beijing "is studying how America settled the West and decimated the Indians - they risk making the same mistakes we made." Abroad, China has for years supplied military technology and weapons, sometimes nuclear, to Syria, Iraq, Iran, Libya and Pakistan. Washington has repeatedly warned Beijing to cease this deadly support of international terrorism, and the Chinese have either denied the charges or falsely promised to stop.

Increasingly entwined in the international system, China has been awarded the 2008 Olympics and will soon enter the World Trade Organization. It has associated itself with international agreements dealing with human rights and arms control, to some of which Washington has yet to agree. .Mr. Bush has done well to remind China that it is not operating unseen behind a strategic and moral great wall.

The writer, a China analyst based in London, contributed this comment to the International Herald Tribune.
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LONDON George W. Bush did not kowtow in Shanghai. He thanked Jiang Zemin for his support in the struggle against terrorism and, like Colin Powell, remarked that China and the United States were now friends. But Mr. Bush and General Powell made clear that they were not presenting Beijing with a blank check. ."The war against terrorism," President Bush said, "must never be an excuse to persecute minorities." He also said: "I stressed the need to combat the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and missile technology." .In his plainspeaking way, Mr.Bush struck at the two fundamental defects in the Chinese system - internally, the abuse of human rights, and externally, China as an arms supplier to terrorist states. .China is not by any measure a powerful military ally of the United States. Indeed, it is barely an ally at all. What Mr Bush required from Beijing was its approval of the American attack on the Taliban and the terrorist network it harbors in Afghanistan. Equally important was Chinese silence. China had to be persuaded not to oppose, as it usually does, intrusion into another country's sovereignty. So in Shanghai President Bush, as was expected, thanked President Jiang for his support in the struggle against terrorism. He did this knowing that China had called for support against "terrorists" and "separatism." This was certainly a reference to Muslims in northwest Xinjiang, and perhaps to Tibet. .What China expected was no further American criticism of its human rights record and, if things went really well, silence on China's arms trade. There are Americans who take the line that because of China's bulk and its potential for causing regional if not world instability, what would be publicly confronted in other nations must be dealt with, if at all, behind a screen in Beijing. This is not only shameful, it is unwise. China's instability is caused by its governance. Internally, Beijing has for years conducted terror against many of its citizens. I use the word "terror" deliberately. It has used violence selectively to frighten its people into obedience. .No form of organized opposition is permitted in China, although individual and some public criticism is permitted as long as the supreme leaders and the governing Communist Party are not singled out. Any religious grouping which declines to operate under the Communist Party's various "Patriotic" organs, whether Catholic, Protestant, Buddhist or Muslim, is criminalized, as is the Falun Gong. This policy affects many millions of believers in China, many of whose priests, monks and imams are in jail. .All the leaders of the Democratic Party in China are behind bars, and other significant dissidents, including the Dalai Lama, live in exile. In Xinjiang in particular, the vast majority of the 8 million Uighurs are moderate Muslims and long for real autonomy. A tiny number are terrorists, reportedly trained in Afghanistan and Chechnya. Beijing uses these militants as an excuse to make religious observance nearly impossible in Xinjiang. .Dru Gladney, an expert on the Uighurs at the University of Hawaii, says Beijing "is studying how America settled the West and decimated the Indians - they risk making the same mistakes we made." Abroad, China has for years supplied military technology and weapons, sometimes nuclear, to Syria, Iraq, Iran, Libya and Pakistan. Washington has repeatedly warned Beijing to cease this deadly support of international terrorism, and the Chinese have either denied the charges or falsely promised to stop. .Increasingly entwined in the international system, China has been awarded the 2008 Olympics and will soon enter the World Trade Organization. It has associated itself with international agreements dealing with human rights and arms control, to some of which Washington has yet to agree. .Mr. Bush has done well to remind China that it is not operating unseen behind a strategic and moral great wall. .The writer, a China analyst based in London, contributed this comment to the International Herald Tribune.