| BUSINESSWEEK ONLINE : MAY 24, 1999 ISSUE | ||||||||
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| INTERNATIONAL -- INT'L COVER STORY
Commentary: It's Time to Take the Blinders Off (int'l edition) As they ponder their next move in the wake of the Beijing protests, U.S. policymakers should forget all the hype generated over the years about a special relationship with China. Instead, they should recognize relations with China for what they are: an uneasy mix of distrust and cooperation. Peaceful coexistence is all we can expect. For the past 10 years, it has not been much of a partnership, anyway. China and the U.S. have lurched from extreme lows--as after the June, 1989, Tiananmen Square massacre--to the euphoria of Presidential summits. ''We have a hard time staying on a middle course,'' says Douglas H. Paal, president of the Asia Pacific Policy Center. And fundamental Sino-American relations are not going to stabilize quickly. The two countries have conflicting views of post-cold war rules of behavior and widely different ideas about the lessons of history. In the past, Americans viewed foreign countries as either friend or foe. But such simple categories don't fit China. Are menacing moves like a missile buildup along the Taiwan Strait meant just to intimidate a renegade province? Or do they signal an even more ominous desire to strong-arm weaker neighbors along China's borders? China willingly relies on America's vibrant economy for an export market, investment, and technology. But it dislikes America the global policeman. Kosovo highlights this discomfort. Mindful of its own problems with Tibet and Taiwan, Beijing sees NATO's intervention as a dangerous precedent. George Washington University China hand Harry Harding notes that a Chinese friend suggested Beijing could now justify bombing Jakarta if ethnic Chinese were massacred there--a move Washington would find intolerable. The stronger economic ties that would result from admitting China to the World Trade Organization could provide some ballast to the relationship. But it's an open question whether Clinton and Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji can quell opposition in Washington and Beijing to a deal. Chinese hard-liners don't want more free-market rules imposed on their economy through a WTO deal. And this summer, the anti-China lobby in Washington will be in full cry after the GOP releases the Cox report on Chinese espionage in the U.S. MORE TO COME. The two countries share strategic interests, from a stable Persian Gulf to a peaceful Korean Peninsula. But those aren't enough to put the relationship on an even keel. American policymakers have to realize that crises tend to push Beijing to extreme behavior--and that other episodes of Chinese overreaction are sure to occur. The trick is for the U.S. not to counter with radical acts of its own. What's needed is time for a new realism. Engaging China does not guarantee a stable relationship, as many in Washington had once hoped. But it's better than the alternative--a new cold war with Asia's largest and most unpredictable power. China is a complex, difficult partner that is still run by the Communist Party. Beijing will never meet all of Washington's expectations. The best that Americans can hope for is to manage the crises coolly--and push slowly and patiently for better ties. By Stan Crock and Paul Magnusson _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ BACK TO TOP |
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 China: After the Rage (int'l edition) INT'L COVER IMAGE: China: After the Rage TABLE: Why U.S.-China Relations Are on the Rocks TABLE: U.S.-China Relations: The Highs and the Lows Commentary: It's Time to Take the Blinders Off (int'l edition) INTERACT E-Mail to Business Week Online | |||
