Carter Science Advisor Says Strong China Good for U.S.

"A strong China, secure form foreign attack, that can supply needed resources such as oil, is in the U.S.'s best interests." Benjamin Huberman, senior advisor for technological affairs to the assistant to the President on national security, said yesterday.

Huberman told an audience of about 75 people at the Kenaedy School of Government that although the People's Republic's demand that the U.S. renounce Taiwan is a diplomatic obstacle, relations between the two countries are slowly moving towards normalization.

A Piece of the Action

"Since Germany, Japan and France were cornering the trading market with China, we thought we'd like to get in on the action," he said.

An educational exchange program in which 700 Chinese students would come to the U.S. while 60 Americans go to China would allow training of a new generation of technocratic leaders for the People's Republic, he explained.

The Chairman

Mao Tse-Tung's dictum of self-reliance made it difficult for China to achieve technological advances during the period from 1966 to 1976, which the Chinese now refer to as "The Lost Decade," he added.

While Huberman said he thinks the exchange program may eventually lead to a more materialistic system in China, he didn't believe the program would substantially alter Chinese thought.

Mac's

"The Chinese have traditionally assumed their values superior--nothing will erode that, even if there's a MacDonald's in Peking," he said.

Huberman said he couldn't predict whether the U.S. would one day regret the lending of technological expertise to China, although "extrapolating the present trends, things appear favorable."