Hillary Clinton: An Opponent Worthy of Respect

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton can be considered the most diligent chief diplomat the United States has. According to records of the U.S. Congress, for the past three and half years up to June 28 (the duration of her role as the Secretary of State), Clinton has visited more than 100 countries. The U.S. secretary of state has the highest number of diplomatic visits. During this period, she spent 337 days traveling, among which 1,750 hours were spent in the air.

On July 14, right after her visit to the countries neighboring China, Clinton, without resting, headed directly for Egypt to meet the new president: Mursi. As the executor of the U.S. “Global Intervention” strategy, Clinton is often greeted by protestors rather than flowers at her visits’ destinations. The Russians even joked that she is a “rude truck driver.” Nevertheless, no one has been able to stop Clinton, the almost 65-year-old secretary of state, from continuously devoting herself to the high-pressure job.

From the perspective of national service, Clinton is obviously a very dedicated American official. Her diligence and hard-working attitude are admirable. America’s unique religious position as a “city upon a hill” shaped the pretentious grand recognition of Americans from generation to generation.

Clinton received this type of education at an early age and grew into an elite leader of the U.S. — she fully accepts the value and beliefs that “the United States leads the world.” No matter if she was the first lady, a senator, a candidate running for U.S. president, or the secretary of state, Clinton’s performances always demonstrated a sense of mission while setting herself as an example of a missionary.

Because of her acceptance of the concept that the U.S. has an inseparable role in historical world affairs and the strong belief that “a new American era” is approaching, Clinton travels around the world year-round to end America’s military actions in Iraq and Afghanistan, to stabilize American and European financial systems, and to deal with the turmoil in West Asia and North Africa. Regardless of the effects, she cudgeled her brain and made every possible effort.

Serving as the U.S.’ secretary of state in the 21st century, Clinton is destined to carry a heavy burden on her shoulder. Because the U.S. faces unprecedented challenges (capitalism’s deep financial crisis, non-international actors’ attacks, and the rapid rising of some new emerging economies, etc.) For the U.S. to continuously maintain its superpower status, Clinton cannot relax but must work hard.

The main line of Clinton’s diplomatic activities is to conform to the U.S.’ global strategic adjustment — to switch the focus of the U.S.’ diplomacy and defense to the Asia-Pacific Region. The core of the activities is to strengthen the U.S.’ allies and partnerships therefore to deeply cultivate the international order which holds the U.S. as the center and leader. Evidence has proven that Clinton is a thoughtful diplomacy practitioner. When faced with difficulties, she does not only follow the ideas of “public diplomacy” that put forward by her predecessors but also vigorously promotes the concept of “smart strength” diplomacy. She travels around and markets American philosophies and values worldwide, especially the idea of strengthening the alliancewith the Asia-Pacific region, led by the U.S., with which Clinton keenly assists President Obama to end the U.S.’ anti-terrorism diplomacy and restore to the traditional “great power” diplomacy — a switch to respond to the rising of the new emerging economies.

The U.S.’s diplomacy with China is probably the most important issue during Secretary Clinton’s tenure. Hillary is very clear that if the U.S. does not adopt new thinking and practices to deal with China, the U.S.’ shrinking trend may be further accelerated. In the recent three years, Clinton indeed caused some trouble for China, but she also provided great strategic insights for China’s continuing development. In the process of becoming a global power, China must balance the benefits of its neighboring countries as well as that of the world in the short, medium, and long-term, develop a value system that is attractive to all countries to shape real soft power, and build a regional collective security system to provide neighboring countries with safe public products, therefore stabilizing China’s foundation in neighboring countries. Considering these aspects, Clinton did not only challenge China’s interests, but stimulated China’s thinking as a great power. So, Clinton is an opponent worthy of respect.