【09.11.21 每日电讯报】Barack Obama visit signals new era of US-China relations

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Barack Obama visit signals new era of US-China relations
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/barackobama/6621926/Barack-Obama-visit-signals-new-era-of-US-China-relations.html

By Peter Foster in Beijing Published: 2:00PM GMT 21 Nov 2009


American President Barack Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao reach out to shake hands after a press conference at the Great Hall of the People Photo: AP

Standing on the parapet of the Great Wall of China, Barack Obama thrust his hands deep into the pockets of his coat and took a moment to inhale the frigid winter air blowing in from the Mongolian steppe.

"It's magical. It reminds you of the sweep of history," he said, looking out over the snow-dusted crenellations. "It gives you a good perspective on a lot of the day-to-day things. They don't amount to much in the scope of history."

Mr Obama will surely hope that his week-long tour of Asia, including his maiden trip to China, is judged more favourably by historians of the US-China relationship than by those daily chroniclers charged with producing the first, rough draft.

Pilloried for kow-towing to Emperor Akihito of Japan last weekend, by the middle of the week he was accused of being almost supine when dealing with the new capitalist emperors of China, whom he allowed to stifle his star qualities at every turn.

From the "town hall" meeting in Shanghai stuffed with carefully schooled patsies of the Communist Youth League to the joint press conference with President Hu Jintao at which no questions were allowed, Mr Obama cut an uncharacteristically wooden, stilted figure. As one American columnist acidly observed, at times it was "hard to tell who was Hu."

Reading from pre-prepared 1,200-word statements, the two men spoke as if from their parallel policy universes, unable even to feign agreement on most key issues. On trade, currency, Iran, climate change and human rights Mr Obama failed to win so much as an inch of ground from his hosts.

And yet two hours later the two governments released a "Joint Statement" which is now being hailed as the most significant step forward in US-China relations since Richard Nixon reopened relations 30 years ago.

The statement – mentioned by neither leader at the press conference – left even the most seasoned China watchers perplexed.

"It was paradoxical," said Richard Baum, professor of Chinese politics at the University of California, Los Angeles. "The press conference confirmed every low expectation we had for the meeting, but when I saw the statement, I said, 'Wait a minute, are we talking about the same event?' It is the most extensive document in 20 years, maybe ever."

Running to more than 4,000 words, it promised a breadth and depth of co-operation that was unthinkable even two or three years ago. On more than 40 key areas, including military and security ties, global financial governance, climate change and the economy China and America agreed to put their much publicised differences to one side and work together.

From the general (including China's significant first ever "welcome" to the US as an Asia-Pacific nation contributing stability to the region) to the particular (a pledge to put "millions" of electric cars on the roads of both countries) the document was described as "incredible".

Later that night, without irony, a Chinese army band struck up We Are the World andI Just Called to Say I Love You, as they serenaded the two presidents at a state banquet in the Golden Room of the Great Hall of the People.

The substance of the Joint Statement has already caused some to reassess the merits of Mr Obama's strategy in Beijing. Perhaps, by giving China so much "face", Mr Obama may in time be judged to have saved his own.

"It was surprising that the White House should roll over to Chinese demands to control the agenda as they did," said Professor David Shambaugh, director of the China Policy Programme at George Washington University and visiting scholar at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

"He met no Chinese people, no CEOs, not even the US Chamber of Commerce. He didn't give a speech at a university or even visit a wind farm.

"However the Joint Statement is a most extraordinary document, a blueprint for global partnership that opens a new chapter in the China-US relationship." It was, he said, "a major accomplishment".

On this view, Mr Obama's softly-softly approach paid a significant dividend, as he traded media opprobrium at home for the chance to take what a White House officialcalled "an important first step" in a new relationship with China. It is a step that the White House hopes will be viewed positively in "the scope of history", if not in the New York Times – which memorably said Mr Obama had been "squelched" by his Chinese hosts.

Doubters of Mr Obama's low-key strategy point to China's failure to give ground on a single major issue this week – not even faintly tougher language on Iran, for example – and wonder if China will ever make the compromises required to turn the grand aspirations of the Joint Statement into reality. Where Mr Obama sees statesmanship, his opponents see weakness which the Chinese are ready and waiting to exploit.

But both governments have asked for patience, saying they are determined to focus on positives not negatives.

"I did not expect, and I can speak authoritatively for the President on this, that we thought the waters would part and everything would change over the course of our almost two and a half day trip to China," said Robert Gibbs, the White House press secretary.

In essence, said veteran Chinese commentator, Shi Yinhong, professor of International Relations at Renmin University in Beijing, both sides have "agreed to disagree" over their core positions, which is itself an important step forward in the context of US-China relations.

"The joint statement clearly places co-operation as the primary aspect of the US-China relationship, relegating their rivalry and competition to a secondary position. This is a position that would have been impossible perhaps even two years ago," he said.