By
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON - The spy-plane standoff is certain to complicate U.S.-Chinese relations and affect congressional votes on arms for Taiwan and trade with Beijing, Democrats and Republicans said yesterday.
"They've already paid a price," Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del., said on CBS' "Face the Nation." The Chinese "will find harder going in Congress."
Agreeing with that assessment were lawmakers, many of whom are involved in foreign affairs on Capitol Hill, appearing on the Sunday talk shows.
Congress was urged by a top Chinese trade official over the weekend against linking the incident with an expected vote over China's trade relations with the United States. "China doesn't wish to fight a trade war with any country," Gao Yan was quoted by the government-run China News Service.
The Bush administration is likely to face a decision this summer whether to extend trade benefits to China for another year because China's efforts to get in the World Trade Organization have bogged down.
But several lawmakers said the recent standoff is likely to have lasting effects on everything from the arms deal to trade relations.
"This is not some incident that will pass in the night, this will cause a fundamental change in our relations with China," Sen. Robert Torricelli, D-N.J., said on NBC's "Meet the Press." "There will be retribution."
Other lawmakers counseled caution in handling decisions affecting China.
"It is in the best interest of our country and the world to put this relationship back on track," Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., said on CBS.
The administration is scheduled to start meetings with China Wednesday over the standoff; many expect the administration will take a hard line.
A week ago, top officials such as Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of State Colin Powell made the administration's case on the talk shows for the release of the detained air crew of 24 Americans. Yesterday, no administration official appeared on them.
President Bush stayed at his Texas ranch Saturday rather than attend the crew's homecoming ceremony in Washington state. He did send them greetings.
"He does not believe that politicians need to always insert themselves into tender moments," Bush spokesman Ari Fleischer said.
The spy-plane's pilot, Lt. Shane Osborn, said he was not offended that Bush stayed away and said the president invited the crew to visit the White House later.
"It didn't matter," Osborn said on ABC's "This Week." "As long as the family was here, it really didn't matter who else was here."
Lt. Patrick Honeck, a crew member, thanked the administration team for its work in bringing them home.
"We never lost the faith," Honeck said on CBS. He said that immediately after the collision with a Chinese fighter jet sent their plane into a dive, crew members thought a crash was certain.
"Once the aircraft started going out of control," Honeck said, "I think pretty much everybody on the aircraft thought they were going to die."
Such harrowing accounts of the collision have helped fuel emotions in Congress.
Lawmakers plan to press the White House to sell Taiwan the most sophisticated weapons available, including the Aegis anti-missile radar system. Bush is expected to decide on that issue later this month.
China considers Taiwan a rebellious province and fears the sophisticated weapons could give Taiwan a military advantage.
"We should only sell that (Aegis) system if we think that is needed by Taiwan and in our interests," Biden said. "We shouldn't sell that system to teach mainland China a lesson."
Bush has planned a visit to China in October. Some lawmakers have suggested canceling the trip, especially if the downed plane has not been returned.
Sen. Tim Hutchinson, R-Ark., said on "Fox News Sunday" that such a decision would be premature.
"I think it's much too early," he said. "Much of that will be determined by how these talks go."
Suggestions that China's bid for the Olympics in 2008 should be blocked are not helpful, said Sen. Bob Graham, D-Fla.
"I don't think we ought to, as a government, become involved in the decisions of a private international organization such as the International Olympic Committee," Graham said on Fox.
The lawmakers, while disagreeing on the proper response to the plane standoff, agreed about what China must do now, summed up by Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., on CNN's "Late Edition":
"The Chinese need to begin to play by the rules of other nations, if they want to really be a part of this family of nations."
