Training U.S. Officials in China

In recent years, elite U.S. schools have trained many Chinese government officials. It wasn’t until April of this year, however, that the U.S. sent government officials from NASA, the Departments of Defense, Homeland Security, Agriculture, and Treasury to Tsinghua University in Beijing to attend China–U.S. training courses.

For China and the U.S., two powers who see each other as the biggest security threat, this is unprecedented. It shows that the U.S. needs to understand China. Besides, this may set an example for other western countries.

As a superpower, the U.S. plays a guiding role in global politics. In the 1960s, while facing the Vietnam War, the U.S. established East Asian studies programs in many universities. In the 1990s, it established Chinese studies programs. The continuing contradictions and conflicts between China and the U.S. show that the White House still needs to learn more about policymakers’ thoughts in Beijing today.

At the end of 2008, the global financial crisis led to a new wave of discussions about China’s development model. Afterward, the D.C.-based think tank, Center for Strategic and International Studies, published an over-130-page report, “Smart Power in U.S.–China Relations.” The report emphasized the cooperation and competition between China and the U.S. in Third World countries. In China’s eyes, the U.S. still has misunderstandings about China.

Since the end of last year, there have been constant setbacks in Sino–U.S. relations. There are still differences in the two countries’ positions on key international issues despite slight convergences.

The consensus between Beijing and Washington is that candid conversations would help prevent bad decisions and that more knowledge about each other would help decrease wrong judgment. This training in Beijing is different from other official interactions because both sides can discuss sensitive or military issues in class.

For example, U.S. officials could directly ask, “Which country is China’s biggest security concern?” People’s Liberation Army’s generals could honestly answer, “The U.S. is China’s biggest security concern. U.S. officials could openly show their concerns about Taiwan’s security, and the mainland could respond that, as long as the U.S. sees China as a strategic competitor, the Taiwan issue will be an obstacle in Sino–U.S. relations forever.

It is historically meaningful that the U.S. is sending officials to China for training. Since the Opium Wars, Western countries have seen China as lagging behind. If not for China’s globally influential rise and China’s attractive development model, why would the U.S., which has always been proud of its Western values, tarnish its reputation in order to explore the keys to China’s success?

American think tanks rarely discuss ‘who needs whom.’ Obviously, the White House wants policymakers to know more about China’s future development and strategy through these training courses. Rather than criticizing the one-party Communist government as a dictatorship, U.S. officials are exploring how this ‘unique political party system’ maintains long term social stability without healthy competition.

The future of Sino–U.S. relations is key to the security and stability of the Asia–Pacific region. That the U.S. is willing to send officials to China for firsthand observation and experience may not change its policy toward China, but it should help policymakers in the White House change their thinking toward Chinese policy. Similarly, China should also have a better understanding of Western values. If the balance is lost, the two sides will always view each other as a threat.

Of course, the interactions between Chinese and U.S. officials will also shed some light on cross-strait relations. In other words, achieving long term stability and harmony requires open minds, and similar training courses need to be created to strengthen mutual understanding and respect.