Mr. Hu in America

Mr. Hu in America


by Salman Haidar

THE relationship between China and the USA has never been easy. They have looked at the world differently and tended to be on opposite sides of a major divide. Yet while ideological differences pulled them apart, strategic convergence had the opposite effect, making for an up-and-down relationship. It was only when China changed tack and opened up its economy that matters took a different turn, and partnership with the USA became the cornerstone of Chinese economic strategy. China was prepared for some years to defer to this partner, for the great imperative was to keep open the doors to the world, to which the keys were in US hands. There were limits, of course ~ China was never less than zealous in defence of what it regarded as its core interests. But still, it was prepared to keep a low profile and not insist on what were considered to be secondary goals, in order to concentrate on its central task of economic and social progress.



With the huge success of the last 30 years, China has begun to move on and has adapted its ways. Today, it is less ready to defer, more willing to assert. More frequently, it follows its own course and promotes its own views. This has had a measurable effect on the China-US relationship. The partnership is still very important to both but the change in the balance between them has often bred misunderstanding, and their differences on major issues have lately become more marked. To complicate matters further, there is a perception in some quarters that this is a time when China is rising and the USA is beginning to go into decline, though there are many to contest such a judgment.



President Hu Jintao’s recent visit to Washington thus came at a time when many questions are in the air and several divisive issues that strain bilateral China-US ties have become prominent. Among these is that of human rights, which has once more been on the boil. China’s incarceration of Nobel Prize winner Liu Xiaobo has been condemned in most parts of the world, especially in the USA, though China has indignantly rejected all criticism on this score. Urged on by public opinion, President Obama took up the matter with his guest, as did some US legislators when they received a visit from the Chinese President. To an extent, President Hu disarmed the critics by acknowledging that China had some way to go to assure its people’s human rights, though differences remain on what is implied by this term which has very different connotations in the two countries. At all events, the issue was not permitted to overshadow the visit.



There was also a small advance on how to respond to North Korea where the two sides have not seen eye-to-eye. This time, they were able to agree on calling for dialogue between North and South, something that China had earlier refrained from doing in order to back up the North, which prefers multilateral discussions. China was also prepared to join the USA in expressing concern about the recent revelation of a newly established uranium enrichment plant in North Korea. But that is as far convergence went, and there is little sign of China being prepared to bear down more strongly on North Korea, as the USA desires. Indeed, it was revealed that during the visit the USA had indicated readiness to step up its military capacity in the Pacific to counter a perceived threat from nuclear developments in the North, even though such a military build-up on its doorstep would be a matter of concern to China.



There have also been other developments in the military field to create tremors, like the unveiling of a sophisticated, indigenously developed Stealth fighter by China, which took place when the US Defence Secretary was on a visit to that country. This was interpreted as a deliberately challenging gesture. However, it seems that neither side wishes to escalate the misunderstanding and it was agreed during Mr Hu’s visit that China’s top general would shortly pay a formal visit to the USA. The Chinese President was also careful to disclaim any intention of seeking military domination or to become a threat to anyone.



During previous state visits, matters relating to Tibet or Taiwan have caused friction, whether it is the status of the one or arms supplies to the other, but not this time. These are prime among China’s core interests and did not seem to have been much discussed. The US side reiterated its position that Tibet was part of China, and there seemed to have been no hostile demonstrations by interested groups to contest this position. It is worth recollecting that not long ago President Obama had a meeting with the Dalai Lama, which provoked great indignation in Beijing ~ there were no echoes of that event during the Hu Jintao visit.



The most tangible achievements of the visit were in the economic area. For quite some time now, the USA has been pressing China, with little effect, to revalue its currency, but this call seems to have been set aside during the Hu visit in favour of demands for better US access to the Chinese market. Here, there was much to record.



Sales worth $45 billion by American companies were announced, including 200 Boeing aircraft. Some of the announced deals are in fact still in a preliminary stage but nevertheless the visit yielded a substantial economic outcome. Among the agreed measures was a Chinese promise to curb theft of intellectual property, a long-standing US grievance. Another Chinese concession to US demands was to permit US firms to bid for official contracts from which they and other foreign suppliers had been excluded.



Such measures underlined the fact that this was a visit with useful results and served to control or curb some of the recent negative trends in Sino-US relations. Both sides showing regard for the sensitivities of the other, and Chinese commentaries after the event expressed particular satisfaction at the fact that the two sides met as equals, something that China especially values. All in all, no great change in the basic trajectory of the relationship was to be discerned, or any overarching convergence with global consequences; it was more a matter of smoothening the path for the future on what is expected to be Mr Hu Jintao’s last visit to the USA before he hands over to his successor next year.



India will take mild satisfaction from the fact that the joint statement makes no reference to South Asia, unlike the previous one, which had not been appreciated in New Delhi. Like the rest of the world, India has kept a watchful eye on the visit and will doubtless remain alert, for the ties between these two potent countries inevitably have a global fallout.


(The Statesman/ANN)