The America Obama Leads Will Be Worth the Wait
Published in China Daily
(China) on 5 November 2008
by Li Hong, Du Wenjuan, Fang Yan (link to original)
We are in front of the television and are as excited as the American people across the ocean. We are so happy for Democratic presidential candidate Mr. Obama having won the U.S. presidential election by an overwhelming advantage.
We sincerely hope Mr. Obama uses his completely new ideas and visions to lead America out of the shadow of the financial crisis soon and revitalize the world�s top economic entity. An advancing American economy is what many countries that have close economic relations with America, including China, would be happy to see.
At the same time, we hope that during Mr. Obama�s four-year term, he will be able to use the opportunity to help take the constructive, cooperative relationship to a new level.
Evidently Mr. Obama�s victory is not without reason. The enormous influence of the U.S. financial crisis gave Obama an opportunity to broaden his leading advantage. Because of the financial crisis, American voters no longer believed in the incumbent Republican administration. This provided Mr. Obama, who wore "change" as his combat gear, with a rare platform and space. At the same time, the anti-Iraq war position Obama consistently advocated conformed to the mentality of the absolute majority of American voters. These two important factors were enough to make voters elect this 47-year-old African-American candidate.
Of course, the burden of the 44th American president will not be light. Present day America urgently needs bold reform measures. The challenges Mr. Obama and his future cabinet face are, without a doubt, extremely formidable. Straightening up the Wall Street financial system on the brink of disintegration, rebuilding the foundations of the U.S. economy, leading America away from its �pre-emptive,� unipolar way of thinking, reformulating U.S. diplomatic policies, listening to the opinions of other countries with an open mind, valuing dialogue and negotiations, and strongly avoiding conflict are all problems Mr. Obama needs to solve.
After winning the presidential election, Obama�s urgent duty will be to seek out competent personnel, pulling a large group of cool-headed and extremely capable outstanding individuals into his cabinet. Restoring unity to an America divided over the election is also a difficulty Obama faces. Of course, how to lead America out of the shadow of the financial crisis and economic depression and regenerate the U.S. economy is what holds the attention of the whole world. Currently, the continuously rising number of bankrupt businesses, the continuously increasing unemployment rate, and sharply falling incomes are all negative effects on the United States brought on by the financial crisis. The American people and the people of the world are all suffering.
During the campaign, Obama promised to increase America�s fiscal income, to alleviate the severe financial budget deficit, and increase taxes for families with annual incomes over $250,000. These policies will help the United States deal with the current crisis. Obama also advocates increasing investments in American medium and small-sized businesses and increasing employment opportunities. These policies will certainly prevent the U.S. economy from declining any further.
Chinese internet users' concern and enthusiasm about this U.S. presidential election is high. This is not only because America is the leading nation of the modern world, but more because the decisions that come from the White House affect all aspects of the world, including China.
We hope the America Mr. Obama leads will be a �new� America that loves and protects world peace, advances understanding of the "new" U.S., and no longer of the �old �America that loves to stir up conflict. We hope the Iranian and North Korean nuclear issues can be fully resolved through negotiations. We have enough reason to anticipate an America that is willing to open its mind to negotiations and cooperation with the rest of the world.
At the same time, we hope relations between China and the United States will be able to continue to progress. In the past few years, exchanges between the peoples of China and America have become even more common and friendly, and relations between the two countries have become more mature. Mutual trust between the two nations is also increasing. Without a doubt, China and America have an important economic and trade partnership. The vigorously developing China, having a population of 1.3 billion, will be an important export market for America. As the structure of the Chinese economy continues to be perfected, low added value and labor-intensive processing industries will gradually fade out of China and shift to other developing countries. When this happens, trade between China and the United States will develop in a more balanced direction.
We firmly believe the high-level diplomatic strategic dialogue mechanisms and the annual trade negotiations mechanisms that China and the United States established in the past several years will continue to provide a platform for the governments of the two countries to negotiate issues and reach consensuses. Moreover, our 1.3 billion Chinese people hope Mr. Obama will play a proper role in the Taiwan issue, and a constructive role in developing a long-lasting and peaceful relationship between the two shores.
We believe that Mr. Obama, the winner of the presidential election, together with the Chinese government, will lead Sino-American relations into a new phase, benefiting people in countries all around the world, including the peoples of China and America.
We sincerely hope Mr. Obama uses his completely new ideas and visions to lead America out of the shadow of the financial crisis soon and revitalize the world�s top economic entity. An advancing American economy is what many countries that have close economic relations with America, including China, would be happy to see.
At the same time, we hope that during Mr. Obama�s four-year term, he will be able to use the opportunity to help take the constructive, cooperative relationship to a new level.
Evidently Mr. Obama�s victory is not without reason. The enormous influence of the U.S. financial crisis gave Obama an opportunity to broaden his leading advantage. Because of the financial crisis, American voters no longer believed in the incumbent Republican administration. This provided Mr. Obama, who wore "change" as his combat gear, with a rare platform and space. At the same time, the anti-Iraq war position Obama consistently advocated conformed to the mentality of the absolute majority of American voters. These two important factors were enough to make voters elect this 47-year-old African-American candidate.
Of course, the burden of the 44th American president will not be light. Present day America urgently needs bold reform measures. The challenges Mr. Obama and his future cabinet face are, without a doubt, extremely formidable. Straightening up the Wall Street financial system on the brink of disintegration, rebuilding the foundations of the U.S. economy, leading America away from its �pre-emptive,� unipolar way of thinking, reformulating U.S. diplomatic policies, listening to the opinions of other countries with an open mind, valuing dialogue and negotiations, and strongly avoiding conflict are all problems Mr. Obama needs to solve.
After winning the presidential election, Obama�s urgent duty will be to seek out competent personnel, pulling a large group of cool-headed and extremely capable outstanding individuals into his cabinet. Restoring unity to an America divided over the election is also a difficulty Obama faces. Of course, how to lead America out of the shadow of the financial crisis and economic depression and regenerate the U.S. economy is what holds the attention of the whole world. Currently, the continuously rising number of bankrupt businesses, the continuously increasing unemployment rate, and sharply falling incomes are all negative effects on the United States brought on by the financial crisis. The American people and the people of the world are all suffering.
During the campaign, Obama promised to increase America�s fiscal income, to alleviate the severe financial budget deficit, and increase taxes for families with annual incomes over $250,000. These policies will help the United States deal with the current crisis. Obama also advocates increasing investments in American medium and small-sized businesses and increasing employment opportunities. These policies will certainly prevent the U.S. economy from declining any further.
Chinese internet users' concern and enthusiasm about this U.S. presidential election is high. This is not only because America is the leading nation of the modern world, but more because the decisions that come from the White House affect all aspects of the world, including China.
We hope the America Mr. Obama leads will be a �new� America that loves and protects world peace, advances understanding of the "new" U.S., and no longer of the �old �America that loves to stir up conflict. We hope the Iranian and North Korean nuclear issues can be fully resolved through negotiations. We have enough reason to anticipate an America that is willing to open its mind to negotiations and cooperation with the rest of the world.
At the same time, we hope relations between China and the United States will be able to continue to progress. In the past few years, exchanges between the peoples of China and America have become even more common and friendly, and relations between the two countries have become more mature. Mutual trust between the two nations is also increasing. Without a doubt, China and America have an important economic and trade partnership. The vigorously developing China, having a population of 1.3 billion, will be an important export market for America. As the structure of the Chinese economy continues to be perfected, low added value and labor-intensive processing industries will gradually fade out of China and shift to other developing countries. When this happens, trade between China and the United States will develop in a more balanced direction.
We firmly believe the high-level diplomatic strategic dialogue mechanisms and the annual trade negotiations mechanisms that China and the United States established in the past several years will continue to provide a platform for the governments of the two countries to negotiate issues and reach consensuses. Moreover, our 1.3 billion Chinese people hope Mr. Obama will play a proper role in the Taiwan issue, and a constructive role in developing a long-lasting and peaceful relationship between the two shores.
We believe that Mr. Obama, the winner of the presidential election, together with the Chinese government, will lead Sino-American relations into a new phase, benefiting people in countries all around the world, including the peoples of China and America.