Recommendations for Sino-US Rapprochment

By Eleanor Albert

Read the news. Any news sources, whether liberal or conservative, writes about China within a critical framework. The New York Times alone had the following headlines in the past few days: “China Bars Noted Scholar From Planned Trip to U.S.,” “China Said to Execute Thousands in ‘09,” “Chinese Court Hands Down Stiff Sentences to Four Mining Company Employees,” “Chinese Activist Surfaces After a Year in Custody,” “Rescuers in China Struggle to Free 153 Trapped Miners.”

Search a little deeper through the China related articles in the NYT, weeding out the negative narrative Western media has developed for the East’s miracle economic nation, and you will find Charles A. Kupchan’s “Soothing US-China Tensions:” recommendations to pull both Beijing and Washington out of the rut and tensions that have recently plagued the “partnership” between two of the world’s major powers.

Toward the end of the Bush administration, China –in the eyes of the U.S. government—was to be a “responsible stakeholder” and “constructive cooperator.” Obama’s administration, upon entering office, recognized the relations between China and the United States as the most important partnership and sought to cultivate it. Progress has seemingly stagnated and Kupchan warns:

“With the anger on both sides intensifying, American and Chinese leaders urgently need to take steps to defuse the situation. Otherwise, China’s continuing rise may soon result in a classic rivalry between reigning hegemon and ascending challenger.”

By now, it is evident that the U.S. and China have an increasingly dependent relationship and must make compromises, but both governments are taking the wrong positions to alleviate tensions. Obama and the CCP leadership are facing tremendous political pressure domestically—but the administrations cannot neglect their commitment to the stability and security of the international community and prevent the exploitation of ideological differences that are widening the fissure in U.S.-China relations. The U.S. bullies China about the yuan and “urges” the CCP to revalue its currency when it should use multilateral dialogue platforms. Beijing continuously expresses the desire to play a larger role in the international community and should seize the opportunity to establish credibility as a major player by supporting stricter sanctions on Iran to stop nuclear proliferation.

International institutions and platforms for dialogue are key to resolving the current tensions between Beijing and Washington. The governments will continue to have differing opinions on Taiwan and human rights, but they can and need to compromise on economic issues (that have implications for the global economy) and international security issues.

(Photo courtesy of White House Photo Gallery)