America and China Have Avoided Open Confrontation, But for How Long?

Facing down a strong Chinese backlash, Barack Obama has met with Tibetan Buddhism’s supreme leader, the Fourteenth Dalai Lama.

China — who demanded that the meeting be canceled — had been hinting at a host of retaliatory measures on the United States in an attempt to exert pressure on Obama. In the midst of the decision to sell arms to Taiwan and Google’s censorship problems, Sino-U.S. relations have soured.

In spite of the sensitive timing, Obama demonstrated his strong support for the preservation of Tibet’s unique religion, culture and language, and for the defense of human rights, daring to ignore China’s warnings.

The Dalai Lama also visited the United States last October, but Obama postponed their meeting. Obama was roundly criticized at home for “deferring to China” in the lead-up to his first state visit there. For a president who champions respect for human rights, it was a bad misstep.

With his jobs and health care reform bills frustrated, Obama’s approval rating is taking a dive. It looks as though the ruling Democratic Party is destined for a tough fight in November’s mid-term elections. Domestically, Obama is increasingly embattled.

Obama has again appealed to his image as a defender of human rights in a bid to silence criticism that he is weak-willed and to recover his standing among Americans. In light of this, the meeting with the Dalai Lama was inevitable.

However, after the meeting, the United States issued a statement that “the president and the Dalai Lama agreed on the importance of a positive and cooperative relationship between the United States and China.” The United States was reaffirming that it considers Tibet a part of China — clearly in deference to China.

China has not altered its position that the Dalai Lama is “a political exile engaged in long-term anti-China separatist activities.” It matter-of-factly stated its “strong dissatisfaction and resolute opposition to the meeting, criticizing Obama and demanding that the United States “stop the interference in China’s internal affairs.”

However, China only said it “requests … concrete actions to maintain the healthy and stable development of China-U.S. relations,” without touching on concrete retaliatory measures.

China isn’t keen on direct confrontation either. The United States is China’s largest trading partner. An all-out showdown would have an immediate dampening effect on the economy. Probably, each country is calculating when to bluster and when to be frank.

The United States and China have been called the G-2. Cooperation between the two countries is indispensable in order to solve important problems such as those surrounding North Korea and Iran’s nuclear programs. It’s also a fact that without a favorable partnership between the United States and China, the world’s economic stability can hardly be maintained.

China is the perennial object of worldwide criticism in the field of human rights. It will never gain the world’s trust in this respect. China must better heed these voices of criticism.

The Dalai Lama is not seeking independence for Tibet, but “a high degree of autonomy.” China ought to bury the hatchet of “retaliation” and instead reflect on its responsibility as a major power.