Reality on China
Events abroad and politics at home have pulled China and America’s relationship into the national debate. But rhetoric threatens to bury a complex, multifaceted and essential relationship under myths, hypocrisies and reactionary hyperbole. The U.S.-China relationship will define geopolitics in the 21st century. It requires a steady hand, not reckless rhetoric. As Elizabeth Economy of the Council on Foreign Relations asks, “Are we making China into an enemy we don’t need and they don’t want to be, and if so, how do we avoid this trap?” Reality and rhetoric contrast sharply on diplomacy, security, strategy, trade and human rights.
Misperceptions on diplomacy: Paul Ryan: China is treating Obama “like a doormat.”
Reality: Obama has pursued U.S. interests forcefully and without hesitation. Nina Hachigian, Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress, explains: “China must, in President Obama’s words, ‘grow up’ and obey the international rules of the economic game. To this end the Obama administration has brought more major trade actions against China than any of its predecessors.”[Paul Ryan via Washington Post, 8/16/12. Nina Hachigian, 3/12]
Doomsday security scenarios: John Bolton recently wrote, “the U.S. is already perilously close to the point strategically where China will simply run the table with its [maritime] claims.”
Reality: U.S. military power remains vastly superior. At a recent CSIS event, former Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Walter Slocombe emphasized that “the growth in China’s military is ‘significant,’ but ‘we shouldn’t over-emphasize the threat.’ Retired Adm. Timothy Keating, former leader of Pacific Command, agreed. ‘Their military is not that good,’ he said, adding that China has ‘miles to go’ before it can match the relations the U.S. has with nations in the region.” [John Bolton, 9/11/12. Walter Slocombe and Timothy Keating via AOL Defense, 6/12]
Misperceptions about strategy: Mitt Romney says the pivot to the Pacific has been “vastly under-resourced” and his top China advisor says it lacks “serious substance.”
Reality: The pivot is supported by strategists across the political spectrum and is producing results on multiple fronts:
Economic: In November of 2011, the administration prioritized accession to the Trans Pacific Partnership free trade agreement. As Bernard Gordon explains, “the TPP will represent one of the world’s most expansive trade agreements… [and] will add billions to the U.S. economy and solidify Washington’s political, financial, and military commitment to the Pacific for decades to come.” [Bernard Gordon, 9/12]
Security: U.S. allies welcomed Secretary Panetta’s detailed presentation this summer of how the U.S. is “enhancing and adapting the U.S. military’s enduring presence in this region, and to make new investments in the capabilities needed to project power and operate in Asia-Pacific.” [Leon Panetta, 6/2/12]
Political: As Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell recently testified, “a critical evolution in American strategy in the Asia-pacific has been an unprecedented commitment to engaging the region’s multilateral institutions – principally, ASEAN, the Pacific Island Forum and APEC.” Campbell also points out that the U.S. is shoring up alliances and partnerships: “We are taking steps to strengthen our alliances with Japan, the Republic of Korea, Australia, Thailand and the Philippines. We are deepening partnerships with new and emerging partners, like Singapore, India, Indonesia, New Zealand, Malaysia, and Vietnam and taking steps to strengthen unofficial relations with Taiwan” [Kurt Campbell, 9/20/12]
[Mitt Romney, 2/16/12. Aaron Friedberg, 9/10/12]
Hypocrisy on trade: Romney ad: “Trade has to work for America. That means crack down on cheaters like China. It means open up new markets.”
Reality: Romney invested in companies that outsourced to China, and flip-flopped his criticism of Obama first for being too tough, now too weak. Hachigian notes that in a recent television ad Gov. Romney “criticizes President Obama’s record on China. He complains about jobs going to China when, at Bain Capital, he invested in companies that did just that, according to the Boston Globe. He now blasts the president on trade despite the fact that in his book No Apology, he actually does the opposite and criticizes President Obama for being too tough on China.” Additionally, the Financial Times reports that “Mitt Romney’s trust invested in [the Chinese company] Cnooc at a time when the US was growing concerned about the Chinese oil company’s multibillion-dollar dealings with Tehran.” [Romney ad via National Journal, 9/18/12. Nina Hachigian, 9/19/12. Financial Times, 9/24/12]
Human Rights Myths: Obama admin has ignored human rights abuses in China.
Reality: Obama has encouraged respect for human rights on multiple fronts. In addition to the widely covered Chen Guangcheng case, “The Obama administration has consistently called China out on human rights, speaking privately and publicly with Chinese leaders, meeting with the Dalai Lama twice, and giving our diplomats new forums to engage fully with their Chinese counterparts and the Chinese people to improve human rights and religious freedoms in China. Conservatives’ only answer is even more forceful browbeating of Chinese leaders—emotionally satisfying, but not an effective tactic to make real change,” according to a report by the Center for American Progress Action Fund and the National Security Network. [CAPAF and NSN, 3/12]
What We’re Reading
Syrian rebels bombed an army command complex in Damascus, killing dozens of people and making this the biggest attack since July 18.
Iran unveiled a new “indigenous” long-range unmanned drone, capable of being equipped with bombs and missiles that could reach most of the Middle East.
A High Court judge halted the extradition of radical Islamic cleric, Abu Hamza al-Masri, from the U.K., after he made an appeal that he would face inhumane treatment if handed over to the U.S.
Thousands of demonstrators filled the streets of Athens as they protested new austerity measures.
Demonstrators angry over the economic crisis besieged Parliament in Spain and created upheaval in Andalusia and Catalonia.
Former African National Congress leader Julius Malema was charged with money laundering.
Four Uruguayan marines were detained on suspicion that they abused a young man while serving as UN peacekeepers in Haiti.
A prominent human rights lawyer was killed by an unknown assailant in Honduras.
Japan’s main opposition party elected former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, a staunch nationalist, as its leader.
During his speech to the UN General Assembly, President Obama urged Arab states to continue difficult political reforms without tolerating violence or curtailing free speech.
Commentary of the Day
Heather Hurlburt contrasts 2012 and 1979.
Madeleine Albright explains what role the UN should play in today’s tangled global conflicts.
Kristian Coates Ulrichsen assesses Kuwait’s ability to emerge out of the paralysis that has struck its government for the past six years.
Thomas Friedman evaluates the presence of extremists and moderates in Middle East politics and reaction to the incendiary film.
