Hillary Clinton Embraces Beijing

Hillary Clinton took pains to strike the right note with her Chinese hosts in Beijing on Saturday. The American secretary of state called for a positive and co-operative relationship with China, relegating the questions of human rights and Tibet to second place. At the root of her remarks lay the current crisis. Now more than ever, the U.S. needs China’s monetary reserves, and China needs the American market.

Hillary Clinton is a good diplomat. Now on the last leg of a tour of Asia which has already taken her to Tokyo, Jakarta and Seoul, she has taken care to avoid directly broaching any topics which would anger Beijing. On an official level, there is no room for doubt. At a joint press conference with her Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi, Clinton announced that their areas of disagreement, including human rights, Tibet, religious freedom and freedom of expression, would be the subject of “frank discussions.” But diplomacy is about pragmatism first and foremost, and “world events [i.e. the global crisis – Ed.] have given us a full and formidable agenda,” said Clinton, who has also met with the Chinese President Hu Jintao and the Prime Minister Wen Jiabao.

Economic co-operation between the two giants is regarded as imperative to prevent the current global situation from worsening further. Hence Clinton’s declaration that “we have every reason to believe that the United States and China will recover and that together we will help to lead the world recovery.” It is true that the two economies are closely linked. The U.S. is one of China’s principal export markets, and Beijing, with its monetary reserves of around $2 trillion, is the American Treasury’s chief financial backer. “I appreciate greatly the Chinese government’s continuing confidence in United States Treasuries,” said Clinton.

GLOBAL WARMING AND A DIPLOMATIC THAW

One of the most important topics raised by Clinton, alongside the issue of North Korea, was the problem of global warming. The United States and China are the two largest emitters of greenhouse gases. Many specialists take the view that a bilateral agreement to cut emissions – not something which is currently on the agenda – would open the way to a global accord on the issue. Indeed Clinton visited a thermal power plant which emits low levels of greenhouse gases and which is equipped with generators supplied by the American conglomerate General Electric. At the end of her visit she declared, “The United States, certainly the Obama administration, we want China to grow,” adding, “What we hope is you don’t make the same mistake we made.” And that you buy American, as she might also have added.

Taking care not to offend her hosts during her visit, Clinton was told in person by her Chinese counterpart that China does not intend to raise the question of human rights, in accordance with the principle of mutual “non-interference” in internal affairs. However a number of NGOs highlighted an increase in police pressure on dissidents during the American official visit, while Human Rights Watch sharply criticised Clinton’s attitude, saying that she had sent the wrong signal to Beijing. As Yang Jiechi rather cryptically remarked to Clinton, “Though these days it’s a bit chilly in Beijing… I have confidence that you will see the biggest number of smiling faces here.” On Saturday, Hillary Clinton was certainly smiling.