From Overseas Press

Obama switching sides over China

(chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2010-08-05 16:40

Over the past few months, the US government's diplomatic policy towards China tends to be more "functionalist" instead of "strategists" because of China's "increased assertiveness," according to an article of John Lee, a visiting fellow with Hudson Institute and a foreign-policy fellow at the Centre for Independent Studies in Sydney on July 30.

The article explained the difference between the two sides. The functionalists are "mostly economists or those who focus on the benefits of the economic relationship. They are "strongly supported by many Democrats and believe the US and China are "so economically intertwined that both sides have an overwhelming interest in avoiding war." They admit the two countries have serious disagreement but "since tensions are due largely to misunderstanding rather than fundamental disagreement, closer economic and strategic integration will dissolve the most serious bilateral problems."

While strategists "acknowledge the complex reality of the economic relationship" but believe there is "an irreversible rivalry between the two countries." They "seek tactical cooperation where available but view strategic competition with China as inevitable and already occurring." The US and China have "fundamental disagreement" that can never be changed unless "one of them is prepared to change," although this is most likely impossible.

However, Obama's latter part of 2009 showed his failure of being a functionalist after his not-that-successful visit to China and the country's "intransigence at the Copenhagen Climate Change," said the article. Yet the first half year of 2010 has not been much better. The Google issue and the arms sales to Taiwan both caused disputes between the two countries, according to the article.

But it seemed that China's "increased assertiveness over the majority of the South China Sea" may let Obama finally decide to be a strategist and his change can be seen at the ASEAN meeting last week, when "Secretary of State Hillary Clinton declared a peaceful resolution to the South China Sea issue as in America's ‘national interest.'"

Although the functionalists are "cowed for the moment" they are far from defeated since Obama as a junior strategist has not yet to "make any statement about Washington's grand strategy to manage China's rise". "America might pay a heavy economic price were it to seriously contain China's rise," concluded the article.