Barack Obama vs. Hu Jintao

Obama and Hu Jintao have no doubt been the focus of international news for the past week. First, the two superpower world leaders met in New York for the first U.N. General Assembly debate, giving speeches on the same day; afterward, they separated to meet with other heavyweight heads of state. Then, the two flew separately to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to attend the G-20 summit (which actually included 25 countries).

On the surface, their meeting to discuss solutions to the global financial crisis and greenhouse gas emissions seemed genuine. Actually, they looked like they should have been two brawny guys brawling in a bar, like what you would often see in American movies. Though both held a large glass filled with a liter of beer and grinned from ear to ear, they stunned onlookers by refusing to compromise.

The first round began on 22 September when Ban Ki-moon, the U.N. Secretary General, convened a full day high-level summit on climate change. Hu Jintao announced China’s carbon reduction plans, which promise to reduce carbon emissions to 2005 levels in 15 years and for 15 percent of energy use to come from renewable energy sources by 2020. As for the score, Hu won the first round of the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) by receiving enthusiastic praise from other participating countries.

In the second round, the two faced off in Taipei on the 23rd at 9:00pm at the U.N. General Assembly debate speech. Obama’s speech, broadcast in its entirety by CNN, was convincing with its tone of honesty and open-mindedness. There were four main points: (1) The U.S. will lead by example by substantially reducing its nuclear weapons; (2) it will require the Israeli and Palestinian negotiators to achieve a peaceful co-existence; (3) it will take responsibility to protect the environment, which is being damaged by climate change; (4) and economic development must benefit every country in the world. Obama won the second round.

The third round took place Thursday night. CNN broadcast the U.N. Security Council’s meeting to discuss Resolution 1887’s requirements for reduction in nuclear weapons. In 65 years of United Nations history, this was only the fifth U.N. Security Council summit. For the first time this September, the task of chairing the meeting happened to fall to the U.S.. Barack Obama sat at the head of the round table with Ban Ki-moon next to him and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton seeming like a mere attendant behind her boss.

The remaining 14 countries of the Council were represented by their heads of state, including President Hu Jintao, Russian President Medvedev, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and French President Nicolas Sarkozy. Former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and Schultz also attended the historic event. Obama spoke eloquently with his natural gift for speech giving, while Hu’s speech was only marked by the unpleasant voice of the Oxford translator and the same old Beijing rhetoric reserved for its international audience. Hu Jintao could not compare to Obama. Thus, after the third round, the score was two to one, in favor of Obama.

Aside from Thursday night’s state dinner, Pittsburgh’s G-20 summit only really consisted of the entire following Friday. The statement released after the meeting was only about 20 pages long, with over 10,000 words. Unfortunately, not one Taipei newspaper has translated a summary of the statement. The following is a list of their analyses of the causes of the global financial crisis and combative measures. Due to space limitations, only the main points are mentioned here.

-Set policy and framework for cooperation in restoring economic growth (strong, sustainable and balanced growth).

-Ensure that regulation in the financial industry is tightened (rein in the excesses that led to crisis).

-Specify the G-20 summit as the primary forum for international economic cooperation in the future (premier forum).

-Set up a Financial Stability Board (FSB) and invite the major emerging economies to participate.

-Adjust the International Monetary Fund (IMF) quota, lessening that of developed countries and shifting a higher percentage to emerging countries.

-Grant US$500 billion to needy countries through the IMF New Arrangements to Borrow (NAB).

The G-20 summit statement covers a wide range of topics, including providing food, fuel and grants to the world’s poor; phasing out inefficient oil for energy subsidies; opposing trade protectionism; completing Doha negotiations (Doha Round) next year; and completing the Framework Convention on Climate Change in Copenhagen, Denmark in November of this year.

The G-20 summit bears a lot of weight and has replaced the U.N. Security Council‘s posture. The summit is set to take place next June in Canada, and November in South Korea. Starting in 2011 in France, the summit will only be held once a year. With the emergence of this new international authoritative structure, maybe Hu Jintao and Obama will also avoid competing with each other.