LexisNexis(TM) Academic - Document
Financial Times (London, England)
August 23, 2005 Tuesday
Asia Edition 1
SECTION: MIDDLE EAST & THE AMERICAS; Pg. 4
LENGTH: 743 words
HEADLINE: Washington treads gently as China's strength grows: The US is to urge Beijing to see its global role in broader terms than just the search for energy, writeCaroline Daniel and Demetri Sevastopulo
BYLINE: By CAROLINE DANIEL and DEMETRI SEVASTOPULO
BODY:
With the first official visitto the US by Hu Jintao since he became China's presidentin 2003 only weeks away, diplomats are already engaged in the management of nuance.
Should it underline personal ties with President George W. Bush, with a barbecue visit to his Crawford ranch, or be cemented by an official state dinner at the White House with a ceremonial gun salute?
The two presidents will meet in the week of September 6. The emphasis is more on symbolism not substance, or in State Department-speak, "deliverables". China wants to be seen as an "equal partner" with the US, putting pressure on Mr Hu to present an acceptable face of the rising China. "The most important pillar of China's peaceful rise and peaceful development is to have good relations with us," a senior administration official told the FT.
While officials are tamping down tensions ahead of the visit and keen to carve out more expansion opportunities for US businesses, there are clear challenges: China's grab for energy, concerns about how China's economic growth will translate into geopolitical clout, and its military expansion.
Perhaps the toughest is the wave of congressional disquiet evident in the hostile reaction to the bid by CNOOC, a Chinese state-controlled oil company, for Unocal, the US oil company. Last week, Senator Chuck Schumer, who led calls for a 27.5 per cent tariff on imports if China did not revalue its currency, accused China of restricting US businesses by limiting joint ventures and requiring technology transfers.
Officials argue that China has made itself an easy target by being slow to revalue and tackle intellectual property rights, by permitting anti-Japan riots over a Japanese history book, and by courting dictators such as Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe and Islam Karimov of Uzbekistan and developing ties with Hugo Chavez of Venezuela.
"The Chinese, even if they procured all the Unocals and forged relations with all the Chavezes, would still fall short of what they need for energy . . . China will not solve its problems by dealing with unsavoury regimes and it is one of the points we are trying to make to them," the senior official said.
The US administration is treading gently: the CNOOC bid was not discussed by Robert Zoellick, the deputy secretary of state, in his talks in China this month.
A State Department official said: "Zoellick explained that the Chinese need to be aware that how they are viewed across a range of issues can be important for how others act towards them. Seeing heavy Chinese energy activity in Sudan, without humanitarian activity during this crisis, can create an image problem that can impact how others develop policies to China."
Mr Zoellick said in Beijing: "I explained how it was important for the US and China to work together on the bigger issues facing Sudan: implementation of the north-south accord, dealing with the genocide in Darfur." Yet behind that comment is a deeper concern at how far China will use its growing economic clout to bend international rules for its own ends and how far its policy of non-intervention can limit the ability of the international community to act in rogue states.
"When you look at Darfur, Nepal or Burma, China because of its weight can undermine efforts to create international norms that address transnational problems associated with such regimes. We are encouraging China to see its global role and responsibilities in broader terms than just energy," said the senior administration official.
The US is also encouraging Japan and India to play a larger role as counterweights, such as the recent decision to offer India civilian nuclear energy co-operation. This engagement represents a return to the management of great power relations that guided the thinking of Condoleezza Rice, secretary of state, for more than 20 years. In 2000 she wrote in Foreign Affairs: "China's success in controlling the balance of power depends in large part on America's reaction to that challenge. The US must deepen its co-operation with Japan and South Korea. It should pay closer attention to India's role in the regional balance."
Officials remain leery of talk of containment. "It is very useful to remind China there are other emerging powerful countries, such as India, who are setting standards we agree with. This is very different from containment; it is more about encouraging or shaping China's view of the international system in a constructive way," the official says.
LOAD-DATE: August 22, 2005
August 23, 2005 Tuesday
Asia Edition 1
SECTION: MIDDLE EAST & THE AMERICAS; Pg. 4
LENGTH: 743 words
HEADLINE: Washington treads gently as China's strength grows: The US is to urge Beijing to see its global role in broader terms than just the search for energy, writeCaroline Daniel and Demetri Sevastopulo
BYLINE: By CAROLINE DANIEL and DEMETRI SEVASTOPULO
BODY:
With the first official visitto the US by Hu Jintao since he became China's presidentin 2003 only weeks away, diplomats are already engaged in the management of nuance.
Should it underline personal ties with President George W. Bush, with a barbecue visit to his Crawford ranch, or be cemented by an official state dinner at the White House with a ceremonial gun salute?
The two presidents will meet in the week of September 6. The emphasis is more on symbolism not substance, or in State Department-speak, "deliverables". China wants to be seen as an "equal partner" with the US, putting pressure on Mr Hu to present an acceptable face of the rising China. "The most important pillar of China's peaceful rise and peaceful development is to have good relations with us," a senior administration official told the FT.
While officials are tamping down tensions ahead of the visit and keen to carve out more expansion opportunities for US businesses, there are clear challenges: China's grab for energy, concerns about how China's economic growth will translate into geopolitical clout, and its military expansion.
Perhaps the toughest is the wave of congressional disquiet evident in the hostile reaction to the bid by CNOOC, a Chinese state-controlled oil company, for Unocal, the US oil company. Last week, Senator Chuck Schumer, who led calls for a 27.5 per cent tariff on imports if China did not revalue its currency, accused China of restricting US businesses by limiting joint ventures and requiring technology transfers.
Officials argue that China has made itself an easy target by being slow to revalue and tackle intellectual property rights, by permitting anti-Japan riots over a Japanese history book, and by courting dictators such as Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe and Islam Karimov of Uzbekistan and developing ties with Hugo Chavez of Venezuela.
"The Chinese, even if they procured all the Unocals and forged relations with all the Chavezes, would still fall short of what they need for energy . . . China will not solve its problems by dealing with unsavoury regimes and it is one of the points we are trying to make to them," the senior official said.
The US administration is treading gently: the CNOOC bid was not discussed by Robert Zoellick, the deputy secretary of state, in his talks in China this month.
A State Department official said: "Zoellick explained that the Chinese need to be aware that how they are viewed across a range of issues can be important for how others act towards them. Seeing heavy Chinese energy activity in Sudan, without humanitarian activity during this crisis, can create an image problem that can impact how others develop policies to China."
Mr Zoellick said in Beijing: "I explained how it was important for the US and China to work together on the bigger issues facing Sudan: implementation of the north-south accord, dealing with the genocide in Darfur." Yet behind that comment is a deeper concern at how far China will use its growing economic clout to bend international rules for its own ends and how far its policy of non-intervention can limit the ability of the international community to act in rogue states.
"When you look at Darfur, Nepal or Burma, China because of its weight can undermine efforts to create international norms that address transnational problems associated with such regimes. We are encouraging China to see its global role and responsibilities in broader terms than just energy," said the senior administration official.
The US is also encouraging Japan and India to play a larger role as counterweights, such as the recent decision to offer India civilian nuclear energy co-operation. This engagement represents a return to the management of great power relations that guided the thinking of Condoleezza Rice, secretary of state, for more than 20 years. In 2000 she wrote in Foreign Affairs: "China's success in controlling the balance of power depends in large part on America's reaction to that challenge. The US must deepen its co-operation with Japan and South Korea. It should pay closer attention to India's role in the regional balance."
Officials remain leery of talk of containment. "It is very useful to remind China there are other emerging powerful countries, such as India, who are setting standards we agree with. This is very different from containment; it is more about encouraging or shaping China's view of the international system in a constructive way," the official says.
LOAD-DATE: August 22, 2005
posted by Eastlaw at 12:06 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home