From October 9-17, 1999, AFPC conducted its sixth annual fact-finding mission to the People’s Republic of China (PRC). In addition to AFPC personnel, the delegation consisted of:
- Donald Rumsfeld, Chair of the Commission to Assess the Ballistic Missile Threat to the United States and former Secretary of Defense;
- Richard McCormack, former Under Secretary of State;
- Robert Odell, Jr., President, Odell, Simms, & Associates
- Alfred Regnery, President, Regnery Publishing, Inc. and former Asst. Attorney General;
- William Schneider, Jr., member of the Rusmfeld Commission and former Under Secretary of State;
- David Smith, President, Global Horizons Inc. and former Chief Negotiator for Defense and Space Talks; and
- Dov Zakheim, CEO, SPC International and former Deputy Under Secretary of Defense.
The delegation met with a wide array of officials, including:
- Qian Qichen, State Council Vice Premier and Politburo Member;
- Lt. Gen. Xiong Guangkai, PLA Deputy Chief of Staff;
- Li Guixian, Vice-Chairman of the Chinese People’s Consultative Conference;
- Wang Guangya, Assistant Foreign Minister;
- Zhang Guobao, Vice Minister of the State Development Planning Commission;
- Maj. Gen. Pan Zhenqiang, NationalDefenseUniversity Director;
- Maj. Gen. Chen Kaizeng, Vice President of the Chinese Institute of International Strategic Studies; and
- Song Baoxian, Institute for Contemporary International Relations.
Herman Pirchner remarked that, “this was the first time that not one of the Chinese officials interviewed hinted at future internal political reforms. And all of the national security officials and thinkers we met with were aggressive in pushing the PRC’s line on reunification with Taiwan and against US missile defense deployments.”