Missions Critical

The latest political killings in Moscow, the murder of human-rights lawyer Stanislav Markelov and Anastasia Barburova, the young journalist who was with him, underscore the fact that Russia's political "stability" hasn't produced a society based on any conventional sense of law and order. A more cooperative foreign policy won't resolve such issues, but any smart Russian leader might feel more confident facing them if he isn't taking a lot of flak from elsewhere at the same time.

If the Obama administration now has a chance to make real progress with the Russians, it may already have to engage in a bit of damage control when it comes to China. Chinese leaders are still smarting from what they perceived to be snubs or putdowns in the new president's Inaugural Address. Although Obama never mentioned China by name, his reference to how earlier generations "faced down fascism and communism" proved particularly galling. The Chinese TV translation of the speech omitted the word "communism" altogether, prompting questions about censorship. This only compounded the impact of another controversial line delivered by Obama: "To those who cling to power through corruption and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history, but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist."

From the Obama team's perspective, the line about defeating fascism and communism was meant to invoke memories of the collapse of the Soviet empire, and there's no indication that they had China in mind. Similarly, the "wrong side of history" statement looked aimed at dictatorships in the Middle East. But the fact that the Chinese took both statements as offensive to them underscored the need to factor in how messages can hit unintended targets. Coupled with the flap over Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner's statement during his confirmation hearings that China is manipulating its currency, all of this got the Obama team off to a rocky start in its dealings with Beijing.

The fact is that Washington and Beijing need to be working in tandem to address the current economic crisis. China needs a strong American economy to keep up its export industries; the U.S. needs Chinese financing of its ballooning debt. The current crisis could trigger new cooperative efforts to bolster each other, or turn into a blame game and then a pattern of behavior that could rapidly work to the detriment of both countries. The harsh remarks in Davos by Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao about the American "unsustainable model of development" and the "blind pursuit of profit" may have been on target, but they certainly weren't conciliatory. To the Chinese and others with a critical eye, Obama's declaration that "we are ready to lead once more" could easily be read as a rejection of genuine international partnerships. That wasn't Obama's intention and other parts of his speech clearly struck a very different note, but there was plenty of room for misunderstandings and the revival of old grievances.

All of which suggests that Obama may already need to make some adjustments in his early flight plan. Even the most skillful pilot recognizes that flying is always dangerous, particularly when atmospheric conditions are as volatile as they are right now. Leaders everywhere could learn a lesson or two from Sully Sullenberger.

A former Newsweek Senior Editor, Andrew Nagorski is now Director of Public Policy and Senior Fellow at the EastWest Institute. He wrote this piece for NEWSWEEK ' s Polish-language partner, NEWSWEEK POLSKA .

© 2009