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China’s take on Obama and Obama’s take on China

By Dominic Meagher - posted Wednesday, 28 January 2009


Instead, with the approach of his first meeting with President Jiang Zemin (the APEC leaders summit was held in Shanghai in October 2001; an unavoidable encounter), Bush began to preach religious tolerance to China (04/5/2001). In a move deliberately calculated to antagonise China, he met with the Dalai Lama in Washington (just five months before the scheduled meeting with Jiang) (23/5/2001).

On June 2, John Lewis wrote in the New York Times, “partly as an unintended consequence, but mostly by design, the administration’s actions have appeared to cast Beijing as America’s enemy. The expanded arms sales to Taiwan, rhetoric that enlarges the commitment to defend the island, the thinly disguised decision to make Chinese missiles a target of revised missile defence plans, the proposed shift in defence strategy from Europe to the Pacific and the call for new long-range weapons to counter China’s military power have come in stunning procession.” (02/6/2001)

Colin Powell’s visit to Beijing late July offered a moment to breathe in Bush’s rush towards hostility (29/7/2001) but the game-changer, of course, was the terrible events of September 11. President Jiang immediately condemned the attacks and offered to share intelligence with the US and help combat terrorism (26/9/2001).

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The attacks gave Bush an enemy far more proximate than China. The open-ended War on Terror had been launched and China was transformed from putative enemy into active ally. Containment and strategic competition were transformed into active engagement on this and a range of other fronts: a strategy that has been remarkably successful during the last seven years.

It will be important for Obama to avoid the early mistakes of Bush in handling the US-China relationship. There is no guarantee that such circumstances as eventually constrained the Bush Administration’s inclination towards hostility with China will similarly constrain the undercurrent of economic hostility in America that an Obama administration must manage in dealings with China. The risks are especially high in a time of global economic crisis.

China has already expressed hope “that the policy of free trade will continue to be adhered to”, and has defended its exchange rate policy, but the hostility generated by President Bush is notably absent. Xinhua’s account of the conversation between Obama and President Hu on Saturday is encouraging:

Obama said that settlement of the global financial crisis requires close co-operation by governments of all countries, expressing the hope that the United States and China will strengthen co-operation at the world economic summit planned for November 15 in Washington.

More than most things in foreign policy, Obama needs a China Policy before he takes office: one that emphasises the centrality of Sino-American co-operation on responding to climate change and coping with the financial crisis, as well as commitment to an open economy. Early signs point to Obama bearing the mantle of responsibility well. If that continues, we can expect to see more of the pragmatic, tough but fair Obama.

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Update: Thomas Barnett offers a different spin on Bush’s legacy of engagement with China (The Interpreter).

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First published in East Asia Forum on October 27, 2008. This article has been judged as one of the Best Blogs 2008 run in collaboration with Club Troppo.



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About the Author

Dominic Meagher is a PhD candidate in Economics at the Australian National University and is Project Manager of the China Economy and Business Program of the Crawford School of Economics and Government. Research areas are the Chinese economy, East Asian energy and environment.

Creative Commons LicenseThis work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.

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