Rivals, Not Partners

President Obama is looking for his role in relations with a headstrong China. His team appears to be making the mistake of viewing the country through rose-colored glasses.

In his remarks at the outset of his Asian tour, President Obama referred to himself as “America’s first Pacific president.” Obama was referring to his childhood years in Indonesia, a rhetorical gimmick used to gain the audience’s approval, but also very likely an indication of a coming change in U.S. foreign policy.

The era of strategic neglect that was the hallmark of the Bush years is now gone. Washington wants to again engage more actively with the world’s most dynamic economic region. An advisor to the president said the people of Asia were being given a message that the United States intended to have a long-term presence there.

Obama struck just the right tone for his debut visit. His message is a welcome one in a region that does not relish being left alone to cope with China’s growing sense of power and influence. Washington will be needed equally as an economic and a militarily counterweight to Beijing. The fact that the new Japanese government seeks to strengthen and improve relations with China confirms that as well.

Mutual Dependence

But the friendly banter cannot camouflage the fact that the United States is in fact facing massive problems in Asia for which they have yet to find answers. Above all, the relationship between the USA and China has to be defined anew. Both sides have maneuvered themselves into a mutual dependency, the dangers of which were brought into focus by the economic crisis.

The United States imports inexpensive Chinese-made goods and lives on credit. China’s government, on the other hand, keeps its currency artificially weak and uses the trade imbalance and inflow of dollars to finance its purchase of American securities. An elite composed of influential families and those who successfully play the system have become rich from it, while the desire for more consumer goods among workers is shrugged off. Now that this system is threatened with imminent collapse, both the United States and China are withdrawing into an increasingly protectionist mode.

It is by no means clear how this will play out in either nation. It is clear, however, that China’s communist leadership, with some prodding from Washington, is prepared to adopt more responsible policies. How, exactly, is not yet clear. Obama’s team appears to be repeating the mistake all Democratic administrations historically make of initially looking at China through rose-colored glasses.

China Fights Aggressively

China speaks of a “comprehensive partnership” for which Beijing is in no way prepared. The People’s Republic clings to economic and foreign policies aimed at its own narrow, self-interests. This will inevitably lead to great tension with Europe and the United States in future years. The predetermined fracture lines are already clearly apparent.

China competes worldwide for oil and precious metals with ever-increasing ferocity and refuses to cooperate on climate protection. For the sake of its own agenda, China defends the nuclear ambitions of countries like Iran and North Korea instead of working in concert with the international community. On every level, China is signaling that rather than becoming America’s partner, it unfortunately seeks to become its economic rival.

In order to formulate a realistic policy, China must be challenged. Further economic engagement and stronger Chinese ties to international organizations is the right path, but it must also include clear signals from Obama that China cannot remain the main beneficiary of globalization without helping to correct its own imbalances.