What Bush Got Right: China Policy

I think I shared this anecdote at some other blog, or even here, but it's useful and I'm gonna use it again. Over the summer during lunch with my colleagues in Shanghai I was complaining about some aspect of President Bush's foreign policy, I seem to recall it had something to do with the use of military force over something that didn't exist, detailed in this report. My colleague replied that as far as he knew, Bush had been very good to China. I can understand why a foreigner living in a foreign country would use policy toward his country as a barometer of the success of another country's foreign policy.

The man who has recently done the most for US-China relations is Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson. He writes about US-China relations in a recent article in Foreign Affairs, A Strategic Economic Engagement: Strengthening US-Chinese Ties. In the article he writes about the history of US-China relations, the nature of the relation, recommendations for China to strengthen itself, and potential problems rising on both sides of the Pacific.

Mr. Paulson makes some strong specific points, particularly on energy policy, China's economic policy, trade issues between the countries, and how China could improve its image in the world. As the RNC primetime is about to kickoff, I'll leave you with the three most important passages from the article:

1. The George Kennanesque one:

"Despite the two countries' long history of interaction, they frequently display a stunning ability to misunderstand each other."

2. The economic nationalism is unfounded one:

"Americans who worry that China might overtake the United States are worrying about the wrong thing. They should instead be concerned that Beijing may not make key reforms or that it will face significant economic difficulties down the road. Serious troubles in China's economy could threaten the stability of the U.S. and global economies."

3. The tough talking one:

"The United States and China share many interests, but as is inevitable in any broad and complex relationship, they also have significant differences. When it comes to China's military modernization, its enforcement of intellectual property rights, and its human rights record, Washington and Beijing have strongly diverging views and sometimes competing interests. On such issues, Washington must be both direct and vigilant in its efforts to advance U.S. interests bilaterally or, where appropriate, multilaterally. Such an approach will invariably create tensions, as it sometimes does in the United States' relations with other countries. But differences with China must not be allowed to stand in the way of progress and cooperation."

All wise words.



One thing did bother me while I was reading this article, though: I couldn't help but think that the article's focus on the wonders of the US-China Strategic Economic Dialogue (SED), which Mr. Paulson spearheaded, was mainly about Mr. Paulson's desire to preserve his legacy.