Wallace: And what must come first, specifically?

Deng: Of the three major obstacles, the main one is Vietnamese aggression against

Kampuchea, because although it is Vietnamese armed forces that are pitted against

China, the hot spot, the confrontation is actually between China and the Soviet Union.

Wallace: Do you mean the Vietnamese troops in Kampuchea?

Deng: Yes.

Wallace: President and Mrs. Reagan watch this programme just about every Sunday

night. And I'm sure they are going to be watching closely on the night of this broadcast.

Do you have any message for President and Mrs. Reagan?

Deng: When President and Mrs. Reagan were in China on a visit, we became acquainted.

We had a cordial and frank conversation. Through your channel, I should like to extend

my good wishes to President and Mrs. Reagan. I hope that during President Reagan's

term of office relations between our two countries will make further progress.

Wallace: What are the major issues currently dividing China and America?

Deng: There are three obstacles in Sino-Soviet relations, and there is one obstacle in

Sino-U.S. relations. That is the Taiwan question, or the question of the reunification of

the two sides of the Taiwan Straits. In the United States people say the U.S. takes a

position of "non-involvement" in the question of China's reunification, that is, the

Taiwan question. This is not true. The fact is that the United States has been involved all

along. In the 1950s, MacArthur and Dulles regarded Taiwan as an unsinkable U.S.

aircraft carrier in Asia and the Pacific. The Taiwan question was therefore the most

important issue in the negotiations on the establishment of diplomatic relations between

China and the United States.

Wallace: Is the United States failing to live up to its commitment to China concerning

U.S. relations with Taiwan?

Deng: I think the United States should take a wiser approach to this question.

Wallace: What approach?