WASHINGTON, Oct 18: The White House said on Wednesday the US government was not deliberating a waiver of Tiananmen sanctions to sell spare parts for China’s fleet of Black Hawk helicopters.

Presidential press secretary Ari Fleischer said sanctions against China remained in place. “There is no quid pro quo on assistance that China may be giving in our counter-terrorism efforts, intelligence or otherwise.”

Mr Fleischer was commenting on a report published in Wednesday’s Washington Post (also mentioned in Dawn) suggesting that the Bush administration was mulling lifting sanctions from China that were imposed in 1989 following the Tiananmen Square crackdown.

While publishing Mr Fleischer’s comments, the Post maintained on Thursday that the administration was considering a waiver, but when the report appeared, officials opposed to the idea who had not known that such a proposal was under discussion “moved to squash it”. Sales of equipment other than Black Hawk helicopters was still possible, the paper said.

There has always been a perception in Washington diplomatic circles that just as there is a strong trade lobby within and outside Congress that advocates better US relations with China, there is an ideologically-motivated anti-China lobby that is against rapprochement with Beijing. These ideologues find an echo for their views in sections of the right-wing media also.

However, changes in the international climate are moving China and America irrevocably closer towards a rational, working relationship. Beijing’s backing for the Washington-led anti-terrorism campaign marks the first time since the end of the Cold War that China has supported American military action anywhere. The Post followed up its story on China sanctions with an editorial in Thursday’s issue cautioning President Bush, now in Shanghai, against going too far in letting the cause of counter-terrorism dominate America’s relationship with China at the cost of vital US interests.

It said “any association with China’s repression of Muslims (a reference to Uighur separatists in Xinjiang province) could do serious damage to the Bush administration’s larger political struggle for Muslim support against radical Islam...Mr Bush can best serve the battle against Islamic extremists by making clear that he will not support the persecution of Muslims, in China or elsewhere.”