Discretion of a Superpower

Because of a foreign trip, I am writing this week before the European musical chairs have reached their apotheosis. A marginal note on the result of this amusing game will, therefore, remain unmentioned here. Instead, I fix my eye on something that controlled the international news earlier this week and that, by the way, will possibly be considered by future historians as a more striking event: the visit of President Obama to China.

Iran

Obama’s visit is memorable, only because of what did not get said and what was not decided. The American president did not get support for stricter sanctions against Iran, even though Iran continues to play with the international community by saying it is open to a compromise about the processing of its uranium stock. Beijing also did not show any willingness to increase the value of the renminbi to a more realistic level, as not only the United States, but also Europe and several Asian countries have advocated for quite a while now.

Bold

Obama avoided bold statements on sensitive matters to which his hosts could take exception. He, of course, interceded for the ideal of freedom and called to mind the importance of human rights. But he mainly did that in a general sense, and much more emphatic were his praises on what China has accomplished.

During the so-called town hall meeting with students in Shanghai, he spoke of an “achievement that is unparalleled in the history of humankind.” At the press conference with President Hu Jintao, he praised China as a partner who “has played a crucial role in our efforts to overcome the worst recession in many generations.”

A close advisor to Obama even called American-Chinese relations “closer than ever.” That is hard to reconcile with the extremely strict manner in which the Chinese ran the meetings. For the meeting with the president in Shanghai, the students had been screened in detail and given instructions. The meeting was not broadcast nationally on TV. The concluding press conference between Hu and Obama was a classical case of one-way traffic.

Questions were not to be asked. The two leaders stood next to each other, but could have been located in separate rooms, for all that matters.

Living rooms

American journalists, who accompanied Obama and who reported earlier when Presidents Bush and Clinton traveled to China, signaled a completely different atmosphere and concluded that the Chinese were clearly less eager to oblige their high American guest this time.

In 1998, Clinton did reach Chinese living rooms when he had an open discussion in front of the camera with Jiang Zemin, the then Chinese leader, on human rights and the crush of the protests on Tiananmen Square. In 2002, Bush also spoke to the national television audience; besides that, the government in Beijing helped out with his highest priority that moment: a frank support to fight international terrorism.

Impressive

Of course, a couple of things have changed. The most important: Ten years ago, the U.S. had a bigger debt with Spain than with China; Washington is currently in debt with the Chinese for a cool $800 billion. In 1998, China still was a rising power, an awakening giant; in 2009, basically, it is the number two in the world, a self-conscious superpower with impressive growth numbers, while the Americans are still fully experiencing the consequences of the economic crisis and Washington is having the biggest trouble regaining control over their foreign entanglements.

To balance these delicate relations, an American president is needed who does not boast, but shows his respect in full. A president who apparently also is willing to listen to China experts who argue that direct criticism often is counterproductive and that silent diplomacy cuts more ice.

Tipped the scale

But with his utter discretion, Obama has tipped the scale to the other side. He met with opposing politicians and journalists four months ago in Moscow; in Beijing, he ignored dissidents. Hu Shuli, a well-known critical journalist, did get a phone call from the American embassy about whether he would be interested in an interview, but he did not hear anything about that afterward.

Something like that is no sideshow. Economic growth does not change the fact that millions of Chinese live under an unapproachable repressive system and yearn for a bit more freedom. The U.S. possesses the political stance and the power to stand up for them and inspire them to openly, and with perseverance, address human rights.

No one else puts any weight into the scale.

In the past, the big European countries have all too often – think only of the Chirac-Schröder duo – let trade interests prevail. Smaller countries that are good-willed are unable to make a fist. And if the omens do not lie, the new president of the European Union will not accomplish much in Beijing.