Chinese soon-to-be President Xi Jinping’s visit to the U.S. gives the world the chance to reflect on the role that China is going to assume in international politics and economics. With more than $3 trillion in reserves, China has been looked to as the saviour of Europe. For its part, the U.S. is eager to address its $300 billion a year trade deficit with China, and under pressure from domestic constituencies, Obama has surely raised the question of intellectual property rights and industrial subsidies with Xi.
Another long-standing complaint by the U.S. regarding China’s trade policies is its artificially depressed currency, the RMB, which the U.S. claims contributes to the huge trade deficits between the two sides.
“We’ve tried to emphasise that because of China’s extraordinary development over the last two decades, that with expanding power and prosperity also comes increased responsibilities ... We want to work with China to make sure everyone is working by the same rules of the road when it comes to the world economic system,” Obama said, next to Xi, according to CNN.
From the standpoint of national interest, the U.S. should not ignore several other crucial issues that are beneath the surface of pure economics. Obama raised the issue of human rights with Xi, although no further information was given regarding how he approached the issue or whether any concrete promises were obtained during the closed-door meeting. On the same day, the Washington Post announced that China denied a visa for the U.S. Ambassador on Religion, Suzanne Cook, probably due to fears that she was going to embarrass China at the sensitive time of Xi’s visit. Also, prominent democracy activist Zhu Yufu was sentenced to seven years in prison for writing a poem that was deemed antigovernment.
In fact, it is these very actions that should embarrass the Chinese leadership. With rising tensions in Tibet, China has tended to repress those voices of discontent and pretend there is nothing wrong on the outside, often chiding others for “interference in domestic affairs.” Problems with religious freedom and democratic rights are long-standing grievances against the communist regime. The United Daily News pointed out the example of Wukan as a beacon of hope that, 20 years since Tiananmen Square, the CPC has learned to respond differently to local grievances. Recent unconfirmed reports leaked from Tibet seem to indicate that the rosy picture in the Guangdong village is the exception, not the norm.
All of this is not to say that Obama or any other U.S. president has the ability to change China, or that one single individual, even if he is the future leader of China, can. Premier Wen Jiabao has made headlines for some of his pro-reformist comments regarding democratic development in China, and even expressed sympathy toward the Arab Spring. It is apparent, though, that reactionary forces led to China’s veto of the security council resolution on Syria. These forces still hold sway.
On the Chinese official government website, the article reporting on Xi’s meeting with Obama included one sentence of interest to Taiwan. It said: “President Obama reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to the Three Joint Communiques and stated that the U.S. remains unwavering in its opposition to ‘Taiwan independence.’” While it is standard fare for Chinese media to insert these sentences in their reports on high-profile visits, international media have not mentioned Taiwan in their reports. In other words, press freedom in China is exposed to be brutally suppressed because of the obsession with covering up truths that are inconvenient for the party. Vice President Biden’s admonishment to China on its trade-distorting policies were also ignored.
With attention focused on the meeting between the world’s two biggest economies and their discussion on economic cooperation, it is necessary to step back and take a good hard look at China and realize that its “peaceful rise,” if it were indeed to fortuitously arise, should not be taken for granted. In fact, the continued concern of officials from powerful countries is necessary to let it be known that even with the immense economic strength that China has acquired through the past three decades, the free world still remains committed to principles of democracy and liberty.
(The China Post)
(Asia News Network)
