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

In the grand sweep of history, this is arguably George W. Bush’s greatest legacy: the encouragement of China to become a legitimate stakeholder in global security.

This sort of effort at grooming a great power for a greater role in international affairs is a careful balancing act, and the Bush team sounded most of the right notes, from reassuring nervous allies in Asia, to avoiding the temptation of trade retaliation while simultaneously pressuring Beijing for more economic liberalisation, to drawing China into the dynamics of great power negotiation over compelling regional issues like the nuclear programs in both North Korea and Iran.

Clearly I think this gives more credit than credit due.

*Correction:

It was earlier stated in this post that “on April 1, 2001 a US spy plane crashed in Chinese waters”. This is not true. A loyal reader provides a correction: A US Navy EP-3, flying in international airspace, was clipped by a Chinese fighter jet. The damaged US plane flew to the island of Hainan, where it landed at a military airfield. As per regulations, the crew methodically destroyed the equipment on the inside of the aircraft, then exited.