Rice says ties with China 'not business as usual'

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice said Sunday that relations with China would be strained as long as it holds a grounded Navy reconnaissance plane.

"It's not business as usual just yet with China, and we've made that very clear," Rice said on "Fox News Sunday."

"But we will continue to work with the Chinese, and we really do believe we have to get the plane home at some point."

The EP-3 Aries II has been on China's Hainan Island since April 1, when it made an emergency landing there following a collision with a Chinese fighter jet over the South China Sea. The Chinese pilot lost his life, and the incident led to an 11-day standoff with China while the American crew was detained.

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The damaged plane was inspected by a U.S. technical team last week, and Pentagon sources said they concluded it could be repaired and flown off the island. Rice would not confirm that report.

"We've not yet had a chance to talk with the assessment team," she said.

On another front, Rice repeated administration comments that a leaked Pentagon memo that had cited a suspension of all military contacts with China was a mistake. Last week's memo, Rice said, "was trying to interpret" Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's guidance, "and the interpretation was just wrong."

The contacts, she said, would be subject to a "case-by-case review."

Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Connecticut, said administration officials needed to "get their signals better coordinated" to avoid future confusion. Dodd said he cautioned the White House against isolating China.

"I think you stay engaged here," Dodd said on Fox.

At the same time, Dodd said China could suffer in the trade arena because of its recent actions. Congress is scheduled to vote this summer on maintaining permanent normal trade ties with China.

"Listen, if China wants to be -- and I want them to be -- a responsible, mature player in a civilized world, then they're going to have to act accordingly," Dodd said. "And if they go off on tangents and act unilaterally and act irresponsibly, then they have to expect from the civilized world some response.

"And it seems to me that trade, being a major issue for them, is a very legitimate area for us to look at," Dodd said.

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U.S. Department of Defense
 • Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld
U.S. Embassy of the People's Republic of China

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