Feb 20
USA and China: from a marriage of convenience to one of inconvenience
Written by guest on Friday, February 20th, 2009 at 3:06 pm
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USA and China came together in the 70s. Being one of the richest and most powerful vs. one of the poorest yet most populous, it was really an odd marriage pushing together by world’s geopolitics at the time. Now, USA and China are being tied together once more in the midst of current world-wide financial tsunami.
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Can the two country build a strong and lasting relationship based on genuine trust? Are the two people willing to learn from each other and form a common destiny? Please share your insight on this intersting subject.
Below is my own take:
The future is still very cloudy, yet has a high possibility if the two can learn to overcome their significant difference. Here is one small place to start with: one is too talktive and the other is too hardworking.
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February 20th, 2009 at 5:39 pm
It’s time for a grand bargain between China and the U.S
by MARCUS GEE, Globe and Mail
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090220.cogee19/BNStory/Business/columnists
“it must be done. China and the U.S. need each other as never before. China needs Americans to go on buying Chinese goods and keep Chinese workers employed. The U.S. needs China to bankroll Washington’s debt and provide a manufacturing platform for U.S. multinationals. The rest of the world needs them both to work together on the imbalances that have distorted the global financial system.”
“ ‘Some believe that China on the rise is by definition an adversary,’ Ms. Clinton said before she left for Asia. ‘To the contrary, we believe the United States and China benefit from, and contribute to, each other’s successes.’ Quite so. Now let’s see them prove they know it.”
February 22nd, 2009 at 10:24 pm
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/02/22/world/main4818429.shtml?tag=topHome;topStories
I find the title amusing “Clinton To China: Keep Buying Our Debt” I do sense that Obama’s Rhetoric about badmouthing China months ago is just rhetoric as Hillary didn’t even bother to bring up sensitive issues like Tibet, Taiwan and human rights. Even though China has been affected by the economic downturn, because they sell more low end goods compared to other Countries like South Korea and Japan. So the US have to rely China more as a partner rather than a competitor to get out from this Economic mess as only China seems to be the only country that is willing to buy US’ debt.
This kind of friendship between China and the US worries some countries like Japan.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/4633404/Japan-fears-losing-out-to-China-in-relations-with-US.html
My guess is that Japan has little leverage as trying to be a dependent to be an export country backfired on them.
March 17th, 2009 at 1:31 am
““Be Nice to the Countries That Lend You Money” or ELSE !
Interview with Gao Xiqing by James Fallows, Atlantic Magzine
“This concern is not really about China itself. It could be any country. It could be Japan, or Germany. This generation of Americans is so used to your supremacy. Your being treated nicely by everyone. It hurts to think, Okay, now we have to be on equal footing to other people. “On equal footing” would necessarily mean that sometimes you have to stoop to appear to be humble to other people.”
“Americans are not sensitive in that regard. I mean, as a whole. The simple truth today is that your economy is built on the global economy. And it’s built on the support, the gratuitous support, of a lot of countries. So why don’t you come over and … I won’t say kowtow [with a laugh], but at least, be nice to the countries that lend you money. ”
http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200812/fallows-chinese-banker
March 17th, 2009 at 1:35 am
China’s Way Forward
by James Fallows, Atlantic Magzine
“If China were truly like the old Soviet Union, the coming mass unemployment might be the shock that finally turned the people against their rulers. If it were truly like Japan, it might spend a decade or two chugging along but not aligning its systems to new international realities. In either case, Americans might feel sorry for China’s still-impoverished masses—but less worried about its competitive challenge.
I suspect that China will be like neither.”
http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200904/chinese-innovation
March 17th, 2009 at 1:43 am
@pug_ster #2
“Japan fears losing out to China in relations with US”
Japanese do feel a bit insecure these days, when China is so vital important to US. That is the reason Japanese leadership created tension around DaoYu Dao (钓鱼台群岛, or Senkaku Islands in Japanese term). They were sucessful in pulling US into this trouble water. Obama administration was tested by this situation, and I gave a B+ for the handling of Obama administration.
March 17th, 2009 at 4:17 am
美专家为“南海摩擦”监视中国找借口 竟称为世界和平
“对于巴内特的这种观点，中国复旦大学美国研究中心副主任吴心伯在接受《环球时报》记者采访时表示，这是典型的霸权逻辑。吴心伯说，美国逻辑的出发点是世界和平是依靠美国来维护的，许多美国人已经习惯用这样的逻辑来思考问题，以霸权的心态来看待问题。从布什政府到奥巴马政府，美国虽然总统变来变去，但这种对中国不友好的监视和损害中国安全的行动却从没停止过，这反映了美国国家安全政策在霸权方面是一贯的。
吴心伯说，通过牺牲自己的主权和安全利益去接受美国的种种霸权行为，以换取美国霸权下的和平，这是正常国家不能接受的。中国是不是一个成熟的国家，不应该以是否接受美国霸权的行为来衡量。中国和美国的理解不一样。美国过去没有，现在也没有能力独自去维护世界和平，世界其他国家也不相信美国在世界的种种举动都是出于善意，美国更多是在维护自己的霸权
”
http://world.huanqiu.com/roll/2009-03/405292.html