A maturing relationship.

last updated 8 January 2015

China and the U.S.

China has finally reached a stable relationship with the U.S., said China’s People’s Daily News in an editorial. The first U.S. overtures, during the Nixon administration, were born of the common need “to contain the Soviet Union.” Once the USSR was gone, the Clinton administration tried to redefine the relationship as one of “strategic partnership.” That ended in 1999, when the U.S. bombed the Chinese Embassy in Yugoslavia. The 9/11 attacks and the subsequent U.S. war on terror created a new opportunity. Washington needed Beijing’s help, “and Beijing responded.” But thanks to the growth of international trade, this third phase of the relationship is much deeper than the first two. “With the advancement of globalization, both China and the United States are deeply involved with each other politically and economically.” The two countries are joined by “a new type of interdependence, which generates its own force propelling relations forward.” We have every reason to believe that “this new wave of China-U.S. ties is heading in a positive direction for the long term.”

It may be a partnership, but it’s no friendship, said Chua Chin Hon in the Singapore Straits Times. When President Bush was in Asia last week, he had glowing things to say about his “close friend,” Japan’s Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, and about his “good personal relationship” with South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun. But after his meeting with Chinese President Hu Jintao—the two leaders’ fifth encounter this year—Bush didn’t have a single nice word to say about the man. At the “mandatory grip-and-grin” photo op, the two presidents’ “lack of personal chemistry” was obvious. That the meeting was nevertheless a success, or at least not a failure, is testimony to the strength of the countries’ common interests.At least Bush is no longer belligerent toward China, said Du Ping in Singapore’s Lianhe Zaobao. He is “much milder diplomatically—a far cry from the prickly ‘cowboy president’ of five years ago.” Since then, he’s become more mature and more realistic. Instead of indulging in incendiary rhetoric about defending Taiwan at all costs, for example, Bush merely tossed off a few words of praise for the freedoms that Taiwan enjoys. “The substantive difference between ‘praising’ Taiwan’s democracy and ‘protecting’ Taiwan’s democracy is vast.” By avoiding the hot topics, Bush was able to focus on strengthening economic ties and forming a real partnership.