What happens when communication channels between the presidents of the two most powerful nations break down?
Credit: George Bush Presidential Library and Museum
A few months into George W. Bush’s presidency, a U.S. Navy spy plane on a surveillance mission near Hainan island collided with a Chinese fighter jet, forcing the American plane to make an emergency landing in mainland China — in turn, kicking off a diplomatic nightmare.
Following the crash, President Bush repeatedly tried to call then-Chinese leader Jiang Zemin to diffuse the situation. But after around 12 attempts and “several agonizing days,” as Bush describes in his memoir Decision Points, the EP-3 plane and crew were still in Chinese hands.
“Before any dialogue [between Bush and Jiang] was established, [the] EP-3 [incident] happened,” says Michael J. Green, who was then in his first week at the National Security Council as director for Asian affairs.
“That made it clear that dialogue at the level of the president was incredibly important,“ adds Green, who is now senior vice president for Asia at the Center for Strategic and International Studie
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