Hillary’s Smart Power: A Tough and Soft Approach Toward China?

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived in Beijing from South Korea yesterday to begin a three day meeting with China. Not only is this Hillary Clinton’s first visit to China as secretary of state, it also marks the beginning of the Obama administration's skillful running-in with China. This will be of utmost importance to Sino-U.S. ties a few years down the road, and is therefore worthy of close attention.

We can begin to examine the interaction between the U.S. and China during the period of Hillary’s visit from the philosophy and technicality of the U.S.’s policy towards China. Firstly, the philosophy of its policy involves the general setting of the changes in Sino-U.S. ties in recent years. Careful observers may have already noticed that with the development of Sino-U.S. bilateral ties and the easing of the situation of the Taiwan Strait, the Taiwan problem is no longer part of the main issues between the two countries. On the contrary, economic problems represented by economic and trade friction as well as the renminbi exchange rate will gradually become the main point of conflict between the U.S. and China.

Such a change in Sino-U.S. ties is linked to a change in the fundamental state of the ties between the two countries. As everyone knows, as China rose and as it continues to grow, it has constantly deepening impact and influence on the U.S., be it in the area of challenges or cooperation. As such, China has already become a shadow that cannot be driven away in the political, economic and social life of the U.S. The dual situation of cooperation and competition between the two countries has also become increasingly apparent.

American Think Tank Hopes to Influence Hillary

As such, from now and for a long time to come, the Sino-U.S. economic and trade issues as well as their running-in will become the main points of conflict in the ties between the two countries. At the same time, if the two sides continue to work toward easing the tension between them, the effects of American factors in their ties will also continue to decline. Certainly, just as Commander of the U.S. Pacific Command Timothy Keating had expressed earlier of his willingness to bridge the gap between the armed forces of the two countries, whether the U.S. would be able to play certain more proactive roles in future exchanges between the U.S. and China is something for scholars from both sides to think about.

We noticed from such a setting that there had been some changes in the U.S.’s strategic thinking regarding China, be they philosophical or technical. Firstly, following the proposition of Smart Power, U.S. diplomacy will be used to adopt a more proactive attitude in seeking cooperation with international communities in the days to come. Their attitude with regards to their policy toward China will naturally follow suit.

In a recent report released by the Heritage Foundation, it was pointed out that the Obama administration needs to study and learn from the methods of the Reagan administration in the 80’s when it engages China in the days to come. The report states that the Reagan administration’s attitude toward China at that time was one of respect for the Chinese government, people and tradition. On the other hand, the administration was completely firm on its stand. The achievement of balance between the two attitudes enabled the Reagan administration to execute its policy toward China with skill and ease.

The report suggests that the Obama administration has to first evaluate the difference between China’s pledge of cooperation and its actual result. This is because China's actions on a series of issues (such as policies involving North Korea, Myanmar, Iran, and Sudan) where China could have made a positive difference have not been handled satisfactorily, according to the U.S.

The Co-Existence of Toughness and Respect?

At the same time, the report also suggests that the Obama administration should link economic freedom to political freedom, and let the people and government of China understand that economic freedom is a goal that China is striving for with every effort. If, however, China does not open up its politics, it has no ground for discussing economic freedom. The report goes on to suggest that the U.S. should also show respect for the Taiwanese democracy in their engagements with the Chinese. The Obama administration should consider having more interactions between the U.S. and Taiwan, as well as reducing the amount of restrictions placed on Taiwanese officials visiting the U.S., and so on.

Finally, the report says that the U.S. should demonstrate a manner that is powerful yet emphasizing practical results; the U.S. and China will no doubt be strengthening cooperation in many areas in the 21st century, but improvements in their mutual cooperation should not cover China’s weaknesses in other areas. The policy towards China in the Reagan era is one of the most effective of such policies because it respects the people of China and the responsibilities of its government on the one hand, but on the other hand is not afraid to speak out on areas that needed changes. The report also says that the reason why the U.S.’ display of power is effective is because the Chinese leaders know that they can benefit from such cooperation and at the same time fear the consequences that could arise from conflicts and differences in opinions.

The Heritage Foundation is a think tank in the U.S. that is inclined towards the Republicans. The magnitude of its influence on the Obama think tank has yet to be observed, but its influence on the American elites and the public on U.S. diplomatic issues are not to be overlooked. How both tough and soft measures in their policy towards China under the framework of “Smart Power” would unfold, and how this new see-sawing between China and the U.S. would play out as a result of Hillary’s visit to China remains to be seen.