Obama’s Face-Saving Offensive

The first round of the two-day strategic and economic summit between China and the U.S. has ended. The Chinese media has paid special attention to ceremonial details in their coverage of the event.

Chinese President Hu Jintao’s sending out of congratulatory letters, Obama’s attendance at the opening ceremony and Obama meeting with Chinese representatives are examples of gestures that were absent from similar Bush-era talks. The core members of the two countries’ diplomatic and financial teams held a meeting, signaling that this summit was bigger than previous meetings.

Also, much of the Chinese media fixated on the word “first.” The emphasis on “first” for this summit was only meaningful for news reports. This is because “first” referred only to two minor details: the first meeting after administration change in the U.S., and the first instance where the strategic and economic summits were combined. The undeniable fact is that this summit was the continuation and succession of earlier ones. Labeling it as “first” bears no real significance.

Face-Saving Offensive

Adding to the hype leading up to the summit, when Hilary Clinton and Timothy Geithner co-wrote an article in the “Wall Street Journal” calling for China and the U.S. to pull together in times of trouble, the Chinese media described it using the word “rare,” thinking that this would highlight how serious the U.S. was about the summit. That the two of them co-wrote an article was in fact rare, and there is no doubt that the Obama administration took the China-U.S. summit seriously, but for acting officials to write articles in well-known media like the “Wall Street Journal,” however, is something very common in the U.S.

Also, after the opening ceremony, the group photo of the two countries’ representatives was full of Chinese colors, Hillary gave a traditional Buddhist greeting to Vice Premier Wang Qishan during a feast thrown in his honor, Geithner served a “home-cooked meal” for State Councilor Dai Jianguo and Obama gave basketballs as gifts to the Chinese representatives. All the details seemed to be tailor-made for the Chinese guests. This has even caused the Hong Kong media to describe the U.S.’s high-profile reception of the Chinese as the “wedding of the century.”

China Needs To Be Cool

However, compared to the Chinese media, the American media appeared as cool as usual. Though media like the Associated Press, the “Washington Post” and “USA Today” reported on this event, the attention they paid to the summit was far less than the Chinese media. The “New York Times” and “Washington Post” did not publish commentaries, and neither had columns, articles or analysis. This was a typical example of low public interest in the summit.

Obama’s words and deeds during the summit satisfied all of the Chinese expectations and he gave China enough face-time for formalities. Then again, we will not know if such formalities achieved Obama’s intended goal. However, Obama’s grasp of traditional Chinese culture, the current political culture and the people’s key desires is indeed worthy of our admiration.

Though admiration should be given where it is due, the Chinese diplomatic officials, the media and the people alike should not be misled by Obama’s face-saving offensive. They should act more like Wang Qishan when he requested that the U.S. recognize China’s market economy in a high-profile manner and urged China to bargain boldly, boycott or frankly criticize, when necessary, the China-U.S. summit and all other Sino-U.S. matters. It is through responding to the U.S.’s face-saving offensive that the two nations can truly become friends on an equal level.