Apr
10
Obama: Tibet and China Policy
April 10, 2008 | | 1 Comment
By Kitty XIE Rui (2)
Obama put out a statement on his campaign website in response to the protests by Tibetans on March. 14, calling on that the Chinese government should respect the basic human rights of the people of Tibet.
“I am deeply disturbed by reports of a crackdown and arrests ordered by Chinese authorities in the wake of peaceful protests by Tibetan Buddhist monks. I condemn the use of violence to put down peaceful protests, and call on the Chinese government to respect the basic human rights of the people of Tibet, and to account for the whereabouts of detained Buddhist monks.”
Obama was the first presidential candidate to make a public statement for diplomatic condemnation on Chinese government’s rule to Tibet. He also warned China’s leaders that all the world was watching at Beijing during the Olympic year.
It is well-known that democracy and human rights are U.S. traditional ideal and the tool to intervene in internal affairs of other countries. Looking back on previous U.S. presidential elections, we can discover that many presidential candidates have criticized the state of China’s democracy and human rights. It seems that the trend will continue in Obama’s China policy.
In fact, Obama is always insisting that promoting U.S. value is the ultimate objective of U.S. foreign policy. During his speech to Chicago Council on Foreign Relations in 2004, he has said,
“In every region of the globe, our foreign policy should promote traditional American ideals: democracy and human rights; free and fair trade and cultural exchanges; and development of institutions that ensure broad middle classes within market economies.
It is our commonality of interests in the world that can ultimately restore our influence and win back the hearts and minds necessary to defeat terrorism and project American values around the globe. Human aspirations are universal-for dignity, for freedom, for the opportunity to improve the lives of our families.”
Under the above framework, Obama’s statement on Tibet issue can be easily understood.
In recent 20 years, with China’s rising US-China relations have became an important part in U.S. foreign policy. Besides democracy and human rights, U.S is also concerning about China’s monetary policy, military power, environment pollution and so on. However, Obama, the U.S. Democratic presidential hopeful, is not regarded as a professional in China issues.
At the beginning of presidential nomination race, Obama’s statement on banning Chinese toy imports has triggered the fierce criticism. Several days later, he made a correction, saying that he only called for a ban on Chinese toy with lead.
After that, Obama has become conservative in his statements related to China. He advocates that China is a competitor but not an enemy.
Obama has only published a few official written statements related to China which include his statement on the situation in Tibet and his Asian Policy on his campaign website as well as his press release Renewal of American Leadership of 2004 U.S. senator campaign. Based on those documents and other interviews, speeches and debates related to him, we can extract some points of his China Policy.
1) Overall strategy
We have to be tougher negotiators with China. They are not enemies, but they are competitors of ours. Right now the United States is still the dominant superpower in the world. But the next president can’t be thinking about today; he or she also has to be thinking about 10 years from now, 20 years from now, 50 years from now.
(Source: 2007 Des Moines Register Democratic debate Dec 13, 2007)
2)Economy
“China is a competitor, but they don’t have an enemy, as long as we understand that they are going to be negotiating aggressively for their advantage, and we’ve got to make sure that we’re looking after American workers. That means enforcing our trade agreements; it means that if they’re manipulating their currency, that we take them to the mat on that issue; it means that we are also not running up deficits and asking China to bail us out.”
(Source: 2007 AFL-CIO Democratic primary forum Aug 8, 2007)
We should insist on labor standards and human rights, the opening of Chinese markets fully to American goods, and the fulfillment of legal contracts with American businesses-but without triggering a trade war, as prolonged instability in the Chinese economy could have global economic consequences.
(Source: Press Release, “Renewal of American Leadership “, Jul 12, 2004)
3)International relations
“The European Union as a whole has been a long-standing ally of ours, and through NATO we’ve been able to make some significant progress. We also have to look east, because increasingly, the center of gravity in this world is shifting to Asia. Japan has been an outstanding ally of ours for many years. But, obviously, China is rising and it’s not going away. They’re neither our enemy nor our friend. They’re competitors. ”
(Source: 2007 South Carolina Democratic primary debate, on MSNBC Apr 26, 2007)
Seek New Partnerships in Asia: Obama will forge a more effective framework in Asia that goes beyond bilateral agreements, occasional summits, and ad hoc arrangements, such as the six-party talks on North Korea. He will maintain strong ties with allies like Japan, South Korea and Australia; work to build an infrastructure with countries in East Asia that can promote stability and prosperity; and work to ensure that China plays by international rules.
(Source: Campaign Website, BarackObama.com, “Foreign Policy” 2008)
4)Taiwan Issue
The U.S. should be firm on issues that divide us [from the Beijing government] -like Taiwan-while flexible on issues that could unite us.
(Source: Press Release, “Renewal of American Leadership “, Jul 12, 2004)
5)Tibet Issue
There has been an informal dialogue between Chinese leaders and the Dalai Lama’s representatives over the past six years. It is good that they have been talking, but China has thus far shown no flexibility on the substance of those discussions. Indeed, it has delayed in scheduling the latest round, despite the willingness of the Tibetans to continue dialogue.
If Tibetans are to live in harmony with the rest of China’s people, their religion and culture must be respected and protected. Tibet should enjoy genuine and meaningful autonomy. The Dalai Lama should be invited to visit China, as part of a process leading to his return.
(Source: Campaign Website, BarackObama.com “Statement of Senator Barack Obama on the situation in Tibet”, March 14, 2008)
6)Military Power
Barack Obama will restore America’s leadership abroad, reform and enhance international organizations and strengthen our alliances. He will strengthen NATO to face 21st-century threats, forge a new and lasting framework for collective security in Asia, and work with other countries around the world to combat global climate change.
(Source: Campaign Website, BarackObama.com “Resource Flyers” Aug 26, 2007)
Besides, it is known that, before the U.S. Democratic presidential race, Obama has never deal with Chinese government. So the experts in US-China relations predicted that Obama’s consultant group of foreign affairs would play an important role in his China policy if he became the next U.S. president. Now Obama’s consultant group includes three core consultants: Zbigniew Brzezinski who is the consultant of U.S. National Security Council (NSC) of Jimmy Carter’s cabinet, Anthony Lake who is the professor in international relations in Georgetown University and Jeffrey Bader who is the consultant in China affairs of NSC of Bill Clinton’s cabinet.
According to their background and experience, those three consultants mainly adopt the pragmatic foreign policy towards China. Their suggestions may restrict Obama’s ambition in change.
But at any rate, Obama is always stressing that China is a competitor but not an enemy among all issues related to US-China relations.
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Good work Kitty-this is useful background material.