Good Business, but …

The history of international relations is full of cynicism.

The meeting between President Obama and President Hu represents the encounter of the two economies that are, or at least will be, the most powerful in the world, and everyone has a different perspective on the matter. Reading Chinese, American and European newspapers has been an entertaining pastime. Some only talk about the economy (guess who?), while some only talk about human rights, or rather the lack thereof (guess who?), and some talk of whatever suits them best.

For a long time now, I have valued newspapers that can produce striking headlines. As Southern Europeans, we do not attach great importance to it, but in Northern Europe and the United States there are newspapers that have a long tradition in this field. The New York Times and the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, in my opinion, are the best representatives of this kind of journalism, and therefore it did not surprise me to find an extraordinary headline in this German paper. A concise headline that perfectly described the meeting: Good Business and Tough Questions

Indeed, altogether this meeting is good business. But it also poses some difficult questions. For example: How is it that Obama, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, offered a state dinner — the highest symbol of U.S. diplomatic cordiality — to the president of a country who imprisoned his successor to the prize? Or how can the U.S. government be so euphoric about a few words concerning human rights pronounced by Hu, stating that China could improve its record a little? This enthusiasm is strange when we know that this statement was censored on Chinese television. Just to give an example.

The history of international relations is full of cynicism. And it’s full of sayings that reflect this: “The United States has no friends, only interests.” Or so they say on this side of the Atlantic. To recognize the inevitability of a certain cynicism should not prevent us from asking ourselves questions, especially those that hurt. Because if one day everything comes down to business, that day, we will lose.