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S P E C I A L The U.S. - China Summit U.S. religious leaders invited to China to discuss freedoms
Albright announces trip on eve of Sino-U.S. summit
October 28, 1997
Web posted at: 3:25 p.m. EST (2025 GMT)WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Secretary of State Madeleine Albright said Tuesday that China has invited three U.S. religious leaders to Beijing to "discuss the climate for religious freedom for all religions, including Buddhists, Christians and Muslims in that country."
Albright hailed the move on the eve of a critically important Sino-American summit, but she repeated that Washington's engagement with China was a long-term process.
She said she hoped that Wednesday's summit between President Bill Clinton and Chinese head of state Jiang Zemin would yield "some progress in expanding cooperation."
However, she said that engagement of China did not necessarily mean endorsement, and that the U.S. would continue to speak up firmly on issues such as human rights, while also trying to engage China as a "responsible participant" in world affairs.
Albright's statement came as Jiang stepped into U.S. history Tuesday when he visited Williamsburg, often described as a cradle of American democracy, ahead of the long-awaited summit meeting with Clinton in Washington.
Secretary of State Albright talks about her expectations for U.S.-China relations: 
181K/16 sec. AIFF or WAV sound Jiang, wearing a Colonial era three-cornered hat, visited the Governor's Palace, a site in Williamsburg that includes a village restored to its pre-Revolutionary War appearance.
A red-coated fife-and-drum corps serenaded Jiang and his wife. The couple was led around by an actor dressed up as Thomas Jefferson, the historic figure who drafted the forerunner of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which guarantees freedom of expression, religion and the press.
About 100 spectators, including a number of protesters, were kept 250 yards from the palace. Some held signs reading "Free Tibet" and "Human Rights Now," but Jiang apparently was unaware of the placards as he sped by in his motorcade from an inn where he spent the night.
Jiang flew to Virginia from Honolulu, where he took time away from the serious issues of Sino-U.S. relations, swimming for an hour in the sea and joining in a hula dance.
The image of a jaunty-looking Jiang posing in the traditional hat recalled the 1979 visit of Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping. An enduring image from that trip was that of the diminutive Deng posing in a large white cowboy hat in Texas.
Senior U.S. officials said President Clinton had invited Jiang to come to the White House Tuesday night to help the two men "get acquainted" before their formal talks.
Jiang is due to arrive in Washington at 4.30 p.m. and will spend two nights in the capital before continuing on to Philadelphia, New York, Boston and Los Angeles before heading for home Sunday.
With this first state visit by a Chinese leader in 12 years, both sides hope to repair relations that have stumbled from problem to problem since China's 1989 crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in Tiananmen Square.
Washington views the relationship as vital for post-Cold War stability.
The U.S. hopes to get a binding commitment from China to halt exports of nuclear equipment to countries like Iran and Pakistan, a move that would enable Clinton to open the way for U.S. exports of nuclear energy equipment to China.
That would help ease the ballooning U.S. trade deficit, which American officials put at $40 billion dollars for last year.
Who is Jiang Zemin? | What does Jiang want?
The China Paradox | China's U.S. View | The Relationship | Is China a Threat?
- Jiang Zemin - Chinese President
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