Beijing Is More Self-confident in its Relationships with the U.S.

Beijing Is More Self-confident in its relationships with the US

“Many people ask me what I think of the Sino-U.S. relations after the U.S. Presidential election. I told them that no matter who becomes the next president, we hope to continue and develop our relationship with the U.S. in a constructive nature. At the same time, we believe that no matter who occupies the White House, the Sino-U.S. relationship has to move forward, instead of going backward.” China’s Premier Wen Jiabao said in New York. Beijing expressed its confidence in its relationship with the U.S. In fact, Premier Wen Jiabao’s statement tells us that China is confident in itself, instead of in the next U.S. president.

According to the past Sino-U.S. relationships, when there’s a new administration at the Whitehouse, the Sino-U.S. relationship will fall trough, and then start all over again. What about this time? It probably won’t happen, because China is confident in itself.

China is Full of Confidence in Its Relationship with the U.S.

China is quiet about the U.S. Presidential election. Obviously, Beijing can’t state its favorite, but it certainly has one in its mind. Generally speaking, if the Republican candidate John McCain wins in November, he would continue President Bush’s policy with regard to China. Beijing and Bush have developed a good relationship, so Beijing probably will not oppose McCain. Naturally, Bush’s unilateral policies are not the policy Beijing wanted. However, from the war in Iraq and Afghanistan to the latest financial crisis, the U.S. has become weaker, and Beijing doesn’t mind that at all.

However, the current financial crisis is disadvantageous to the ruling Republican Party, and by contrast, advantageous to Democratic candidate Barrack Obama. So, how would Beijing view Obama? The other day, Obama attacked McCain for his position on China. He said McCain is responsible of “China’s unfair trade behavior”. Obama has put out the latest campaign ads regarding China in battleground states in Pennsylvania and other states. The ad says since Bush took office, the trade deficit with China has gone up, and the U.S. has lost 1.7 million jobs as a result.

However, China remains calm and pretends nothing has been said. In the past, both the Republican and Democratic Party attacked China when Presidential election came round. There’s less attack on China this time around. In 2000, when George Bush was running for President, he described China as a “Strategic competitor”. However, at the end of President Bill Clinton’s second term, he wanted to improve U.S.’s relationship with China; he wanted the China to become a “Strategic partner” of the U.S. Despite facing criticism President Bush was determined to attend the Beijing Olympics, this shows the importance of China-U.S. relations.

When It Comes to working with the U.S. the key is Strength.

Although Obama is playing the “China Card”, during his campaign, he said that he would visit China as soon as possible and emphasized its importance. There is a sub group called “Chinese-Americans support Obama” in Obama’s campaign. It states that Obama will not demonize China; that he will have open dialogues with China; that he will seek to establish a balanced economic relationship with China; that he will urge China to play the role of constructive partner on the energy and environmental issues; and that he will be eager to establish a relationship with China and make sure China will rise peacefully.

Obama emphasized the importance of the one China policy and said that he will establish good relationships with China and Taiwan. He said that the two sides should maintain a peaceful, open dialogue attitude to solve their differences and should make sure there aren’t any military conflicts between them. Obama, on the one hand wants to solicit Chinese Americans’ votes, on the other hand wants to send Beijing a message. Presidential candidates saying good things about China shows something has changed in the China-U.S. relationship.

Premier Wen Jiabao’s statement on Sino-U.S. relationship should give people some perspectives on how the Chinese leader looks at the future Sino-U.S. relations. Premier Wen Jiabao is confident of China’s relationship with the U.S. In fact, Beijing is more confident than ever when it comes to dealing with U.S. Presidents. Confidence is the key.

Perhaps when Obama becomes President, he won’t bring changes to the Sino-U.S. relations, but to the U.S.

Clearly, the U.S. is starting to rely on China more.