Taipei, April 22 (CNA) Chinese President Hu Jintao not only failed to get what he anticipated but also "lost face" during his not-so-successful U.S. visit, some local international relations scholars said Saturday at a forum organized by Taiwan Thinktank.
"If we can't say Hu's visit was a failure, it wasn't a success, either. China didn't get anything it wanted. And the protest [on the South Lawn of the White House by a Falun Gong member] humiliated Hu," said Lin Wen-cheng, a National Sun Yat-sen University professor.
The U.S. refused to consider the trip a state visit and reiterated that it would deal with the Taiwan issue based on the three communiques and the Taiwan Relations Act, Lin explained.
China "made a huge investment in the trip but gained little in return, " said Paul Lin, a New York-based political commentator who relocated to Taiwan in March.
Lin said China had made every effort before the Bush-Hu meeting at the White House Thursday -- including signing a US$16 billion procurement deal, holding forums with Taiwan's Kuomintang (KMT) and setting up an international Buddhism forum -- to ensure the visit's success.
China's wishes did not materialize, Lin said, as U.S. President George W. Bush pressured China on the trade deficit, Iran and currency control, but would not make any concessions on the cross-Taiwan Strait issue.
"Obviously, the U.S. was in the offensive mode from the beginning and made Hu play defense, " said Cheng Tuan-yao, acting director of the Institute of International Relations at National Chengchi University.
"I didn't see any major breakthrough in China-U.S. relations. Moreover, China's promise to work with the U.S. on major international issues will come on a test next week when the U. N. Security Council will begin to address the Iran nuclear controversy," Cheng said.
"Compared to former Chinese President Jiang Zemin's U.S. visit in 1997, Hu did not do a good job this time," Lo Chih-cheng, a Soochow University professor, said, adding that future U.S.-China relations will become even more complex.
"As expected, the Bush-Hu meeting was more symbolism than substance," summed up Raymond Wu, deputy chief executive officer of the Cross Strait Interflow Prospect Foundation.