GLOBAL AGENDA

China: Don’t Isolate, Integrate

 
Sponsored by
 
 

Email To A Friend

Please fill in the following information and we'll email this link.

Separate multiple addresses with commas

 

The single most important challenge for the new administration—one with the potential to shape the 21st century—is China. As goes China, so go 1.3 billion men, women and children—one out of every five people on the planet.

China's economy is now roughly half the size of America's; in three decades, the two are likely to be about equal. What the Chinese eat, how much (or whether) they drive, where and how they choose to live, work and play: all will have an enormous impact on the availability and price of energy, the temperature of the planet and the prosperity of mankind.

Beijing's foreign policy is no less important. A cooperative China could help stem the spread of nuclear materials and weapons, maintain an open global trading and financial system, secure energy supplies, frustrate terrorists, prevent pandemics and slow climate change. A hostile or simply noncooperative China, on the other hand, would make it that much more difficult for the United States and its allies to tame the most dangerous facets of globalization. But the emergence of a cooperative China is anything but inevitable. That is why Washington needs a new approach to Beijing. Think of it as "integration."

Integration should be for this era what containment was for the previous one. Our goal should be to make China a pillar of a globalized world, too deeply invested to disrupt its smooth functioning. The aim is ambitious, even optimistic, but not unrealistic. The United States and China need each other. Neither wants to go to war over Taiwan, to see another conflict on the Korean Peninsula or to see world oil prices quadruple as a result of a military strike on Iran. Even more than that, China needs access to the U.S. market for its exports in order to maintain economic growth and domestic political stability. Americans, in addition to benefiting from low-cost Chinese imports, need Beijing to manage its large dollar reserves responsibly.

Americans must accept China's rise. There's no guarantee we could prevent it anyway, and the attempt would only worsen the rivalry. We should not exaggerate China's strength or the threat it poses. China's military, for all its improvements, is still a generation behind America's. And we should resist any calls to block China's access to the U.S. market. Trade and investment aren't just beneficial on their own terms; they also contribute to the web of ties that would bind China into an orderly world order.

To steer things in the right direction, Washington and Beijing should hold regular, high-level consultations. Consultations are to foreign policy what location is to real estate: not everything, but almost. The Bush administration made a good start with the cabinet-level Strategic Economic Dialogue (which also covers energy and environmental matters) and its military counterpart. Both should be extended and expanded by Barack Obama.

Those talks won't be enough, however. It was smart to include China in the recent economic summit in Washington. But it makes no sense for the finance ministers of seven of the leading industrial countries to continue meeting without China, or for the leaders of the G8 industrialized countries to convene absent their Chinese counterpart. China should be made a member of both groups and should be encouraged to cooperate more fully with the International Energy Agency to prepare for interruptions of fuel supplies.

Even if all this happens, China and the United States aren't likely to become allies. But they could build a relationship based on selective cooperation, complemented by an understanding to limit the fallout from their disagreements. Both countries have a stake in such an arrangement. Trying to bring it about—integrating China into the highest councils of the 21st century—should be a top priority for the new president and his team.

Haass, a NEWSWEEK contributor, is president of the Council on Foreign Relations and author of “The Opportunity: America’s Moment to Alter History’s Course.”

© 2008

Discuss

Sponsored by

Member Comments

  • Posted By: jordan c. fan @ 12/16/2008 4:44:55 AM

    To treat a Blackman as a friend while they were constantly harasssing us as Chinese. NO WAY!

  • Posted By: jordan c. fan @ 12/15/2008 10:31:07 PM

    Great Wall vs Wall Street -- To Prevent American Depression From Reaching China?

    The Great Wall Against Wall Street -- How To Prevent The American Depression From Reaching China? PART 2.

    By: Jordan C. Fan, Prophet Of Environment.


    (5) The Chinese government should devote most of its money and resources in educating their people. The world???s most intelligent scientists and teachers in the world must be seek out, head hunter style, to become professors and teachers in universities and local schools.

    (6) China should now demand foreign countries to return all archaeological, antiques and other valuable items which were stolen or acquired illegal/unfairly from China especially those before the Liberation. Cash and gold/silver that were paid by Chinese during the nineteenth and early illegal and unequal treaties during twentieth century must be repaid back to China with interest.
    Any refusal should result in arm confrontation.

    (7) Environmental protection and resource conservation. Since there are little or no wilderness or natural resources left in China and the world. China should again slow down its industries and construction of manufacturing facilities. Wildlife and plants must be strictly protect. Many scenic or wildlife area should be protect and turned into Chinese National Parks for our next generations and children to enjoy.

    If all my recommendations and theories are put into practice, China and people will enjoy safety and prosperities in the 21 Century.


  • Posted By: jordan c. fan @ 12/15/2008 10:28:28 PM

    The Great Wall Against Wall Street -- How To Prevent The American Depression From Reaching China?

    By: Jordan C. Fan, Prophet Of Environment.

    How the Great Wall of China can be used to defend against the failing Wall Street and American ideology?

    (1) The Chinese government should nationalized or expel foreign companies such as Walmart. The business and employment practice of those companies must be frown upon by the Chinese government and people. The products and services of some of those companies must be boycotted by Chinese.

    (2) All non-Chinese foreigners must be restricted or expelled from China because they are false indoctrinating the Chinese people. The main purpose of those foreigners were to mislead Chinese to prevent them from success and getting wealthy. Many foreigner are trying to create Chinese minorities uprising such as Tibetans to destabilized the government and take advantage of their crisis. Others are simply spies from other nations. Yet many simply trying to take away the already limited jobs from hardworking Chinese. Regardless of what their actual purpose, most are in China for false intentions.

    (3) The Chinese government must now redeem their enormous holding of U. S. Treasury Bonds and Bills because the American dollars are falling very quickly against the yuan due to inflation and economic downturn in the United States. The alternate investment for the government should be valuable and collectable items such as gold/silver coins, precious metal ingots, old currencies, antiques, historical objects and documents, books, postage stamps, designer jewelry, and furniture. Most importantly hire highly intelligent people with special talent and abilities. To facilitate the collection and authentication of such collectable items the government should recruit large numbers of connoisseur and auction experts from shops worldwide and in on-line auction and sale groups. After cataloging and arranging those collectable items the government can then auction and sell them to the Chinese people to generate cash for more purchases.

    (4) The Chinese economy should begin to slow down gradually without causing drastic downturns. Their exports should be concentrated on newly developed Asian, Australian, European and South American countries. Especially those petroleum, metal and other natural resources producing nations such as Russia. Chinese should avoid doing business or depending economically on the United States.

Reply

Report Abuse

Enter comments if any for reporting abuse