WHITE HOUSE PRESS BRIEFING BY NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER SANDY BERGER

PAN-PACIFIC SONARGON HOTEL, DHAKA, BANGLADESH MONDAY, MARCH 20, 2000

2:45 A.M. (EST)

Q Sandy, can you tell us something about your upcoming trip to China? And that was planned, I guess, before the Taiwan vote. How has that changed things for your plans, for what you hope to accomplish?

     MR. BERGER: Well, this is a trip that has been scheduled for some time, several weeks. There has been a regular dialogue that the National Security Advisor has had, going back to early in this administration, with Chinese officials, once a year, to look at the issues ahead for the year. And it's in that spirit that this meeting was arranged.

     I'm sure we'll discuss a wide range of issues, including the questions involving, hopefully, a resumption of dialogue across the Taiwan Straits.

     Q But what specifically are you going to tell them about what the U.S. will do, in terms of aggression against Taiwan?

     MR. BERGER: I'm going to say that we believe that the issue between Taiwan -- the future relationship between Taiwan and China must be resolved through peaceful means. And we would encourage a resumption of dialogue.

     I think the statements that Mr. Chen has made in the last 24 or 48 hours have been conciliatory. The statements from the Chinese side have been, I think, measured. And I think this is a time to now seize upon an opportunity that exists to resume a dialogue between Taipei and Beijing.