Again, Premier Zhao paused to let his translators keep pace. Then he said, “I have just spoken personally with the U.S. ambassador here in Beijing to extend my condolences and to give him the same message I am delivering here. Foreign Minister Zeng Zou is doing everything he can to contact the American government for the same purpose. This is a very dark day in the history of the world. What has happened is unimaginable. We must all take care that this crisis does not lead us into the abyss.”
The premier now took questions.
“Mr. Prime Minister,” the Associated Press bureau chief asked, “have all Chinese intercontinental ballistic missiles been accounted for?”
“I just told you, these were not ICBM attacks,” the premier said. “But yes, all of our missiles are present and accounted for. None of them were fired at the United States. Nor would we ever consider a sneak attack like this.”
“Is it true, Mr. Prime Minister, that you are concerned that the Americans might be considering a retaliatory strike against China?” asked the editor of the People’s Daily.
The premier shook his head. “There is no reason to fear that the Americans would retaliate against us,” he tried to assure the reporter. “We have done nothing against the Americans. Indeed, we are offering to help the Americans in any and every way we can, including helping to retaliate against any country that is responsible. Two more questions — yes, you, in the second row.”
A woman with Reuters stood up and asked, “Is it true that the United States is moving two aircraft carriers into the East China Sea?”
“I have heard these reports in the media, but I cannot confirm them independently at this time,” Zhao said.
“A follow-up, sir?”
“Yes.”
“If this turns out to be true, how would your government react?”
“You are asking a hypothetical,” Zhao demurred. “This is a sad enough day without responding to hypotheticals. Yes, you in the back row.”
“Mr. Prime Minister, the wire services are reporting that President Al-Hassani has mobilized nearly 150,000 troops to stop the Kurds in the northern parts of Iraq from seceding and joining a new, independent state of Kurdistan.”
“I am hearing similar reports, yes,” Zhao said. “But that’s not our topic right now.”
“I understand,” the reporter said. “But given that China and Iraq signed a series of strategic alliance agreements just a few months ago, are you considering sending Chinese military forces to the Middle East to put down an independence movement by the Kurds?”
Zhao replied, “We are in discussions with the Iraqis and U.N. Secretary-General Lucente on the possibility of sending peacekeepers to the Gulf region. We have no plans at present to join forces with the Iraqis against the Kurds.”
“At present?” the reporter asked. “Does that mean you haven’t ruled out the possibility of joint action?”
“The Kurdish issue is very sensitive. I’m very concerned that this could be the spark that blows up the Middle East again. The last thing the world needs is another war in Iraq. We will do everything we can to bring a new era of peace to the region, not more war.”
Everyone noted that the premier hadn’t really answered the question, and that he quickly moved on.
“Yes,” he said, pointing to a correspondent for the BBC in the third row.
“Mr. Prime Minister, you say you won’t respond to hypotheticals,” she began. “But you have clearly put the Red Army on full alert. The streets of Beijing are flooded with troops and missile batteries. Fighter jets are circling the capital. The BBC is reporting that the Chinese navy is being ordered to sea, your statement about Chinese vessels near the U.S. coasts notwithstanding. Who are you worried about, if not the Americans?”
At this, the premier took his time, carefully considering the stakes, and carefully weighing his words.
“You must understand the present situation,” he said slowly. “A great power has been viciously attacked today. The American president has been killed. Untold millions of Americans have been killed. I am hearing that as many as half of the members of Congress have been killed. The White House and Pentagon have been destroyed. Who knows the state of mind of the American leaders right now? Do you? Has the newly sworn-in president given a press conference? Have you seen any live images of him, or his advisors? No, not yet, so we are left to guess. And what shall we guess? We are operating in the fog of a very serious crisis. We can only imagine that the American leadership is angry and eager to strike back at someone. So we must exercise great caution.”
Zhao paused a moment, looking around the room before continuing. “I know, as do you, that there are some in the U.S. who say China is the great evil in the world today. There are some who would wish to trigger a conflict between the U.S. and the PRC. They are agitating for it today, as they have been for many years. Perhaps this will be tempting for the Americans in this present hour, to see China as the enemy and to see this as the moment to attack us. Well, we are not the enemy. And let there be no misunderstanding; any attempt to treat us like an enemy will be dealt with in the most decisive manner possible.”
26
Bennett watched Premier Zhao leave the podium.
It had been a useful press conference right up to the end, he thought. But then it had taken an ominous turn. CNN’s Terry Cameron seemed to agree.
“The Chinese premier seems to be offering both condolences to the American people and what could only be seen as a threat to the American government; wouldn’t you say, Wang Li?” Cameron asked.
“I’m afraid so,” the Beijing correspondent agreed. “The premier’s words were particularly sharp, especially given the fact that no one — least of all the American governmenT — has actually accused the Chinese of attacking the U.S. Nor have we heard any speculation from official sources in the U.S. that they even suspect China was involved in these attacks at any level whatsoever.”
“Is it possible that the U.S. has been communicating threats to Beijing through back channels of some kind?” Cameron asked.
“Possible, but doubtful, in my view,” the correspondent replied. “Surely the U.S. Embassy here would be aware of this and interested in letting the international press corps know of such warnings. But at the moment, I’m not aware of anything like that.”
“So from your vantage point, Wang Li, where does that leave us?”
“It’s a tough question, Terry — there aren’t many countries capable of causing this kind of apocalyptic destruction inside the United States, but Red China is certainly one of them,” the correspondent explained. “The PRC is clearly very worried that what’s left of the American government may point the finger of blame at Beijing and retaliate, and the premier is obviously taking preemptive action to head off such a dangerous confrontation between themselves and the U.S.”
“It’s a situation we’ll be watching closely over the coming hours,” Cameron said. “But one more thing before we leave you. I understand that U.N. Secretary-General Salvador Lucente was in Beijing overnight and then left this morning for Babylon. What can you tell us about his meetings there?”
“That’s true, Terry,” the reporter confirmed. “Secretary-General Lucente was originally scheduled to be in New York all this week, hosting a human rights conference. But at the last minute, something apparently came up that persuaded him to leave Manhattan and to come to Beijing. It’s a move, of course, that now seems almost miraculous. Had he remained in New York, he most certainly would have been among the casualties. According to senior officials who spoke with me on the condition of anonymity, the secretary-general came here to negotiate the possible introduction of Chinese peacekeeping forces into the Persian Gulf region. Mr. Lucente has been pressing China to play a critical role in speeding up the economic reconstruction and recovery in the Middle East, and to help increase the rate of oil production, which of course is vital to bringing down the international price of oil and stabilizing the global economy. Chinese leaders have been reluctant to get heavily involved, but something seemed to change over the weekend, something that apparently convinced the secretary-general to change his plans and come here for a series of high-level negotiations. But neither side made any public comment when talks ended this morning.”