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More Kudos To Bush On China. This Is What I'm Talkin' "Bout.

By Dan Harris and Steve Dickinson

Yesterday, I did a brief post extolling President Bush's "deft handling" of China and the Olympics. Seems I am not the only blogger out there similarly impressed/surprised. In "US-China Relations: George W. Bush?s uncharacteristically nuanced approach," CnReview notes the same thing and does a great job highlighting and explaining Bush's recent speeches on the topic:

President George W. Bush went out of his way to communicate respect for and awareness of Chinese culture/history:

Tonight the Olympic torch will light the home of an ancient civilization with a grand history. Thousands of years ago, the Chinese people developed a common language and unified a great nation. China became the center for art and literature, commerce and philosophy. China advanced the frontiers of knowledge in medicine, astronomy, navigation, engineering, and many other fields.

Bush also highlighted the progress that China has made to date, and the significant shared interests between the two countries:

Today the United States and China have built a strong relationship, rooted in common interests. China has opened its economy and begun to unleash the entrepreneurial spirit of its people. America will continue to support China on the path toward a free economy. We?re also cooperating to fight pandemic diseases and respond to natural disasters. And through the six-party talks, we?re working together to ensure that the Korean Peninsula is free of nuclear weapons.

Bush speaks in terms that emphasize equality. But he does not shy away from speaking out on the ideals and beliefs that are part of American political ideology:

The relationship between our nations is constructive and cooperative and candid. We?ll continue to be candid about our mutual global responsibilities. We must work together to protect the environment and help people in the developing world; continue to be candid about our belief that all people should have the freedom to say what they think and worship as they choose. We strongly believe societies which allow the free expression of ideas tend to be the most prosperous and the most peaceful

CnReview then goes on to set forth, in very clear and simple terms the foundations of how the next US President should approach relations with China:

I hope that the next US President will take a similarly nuanced approach to China which I?ll summarize as:

-Recognizing and honoring the progress that China?s government and people have made, Focusing on significant areas of shared interest, Not shying away from advocating for the human rights that are at the foundation of the US political beliefs, Framing the issues of human rights and freedom of religion as ways to enable China?s people and China?s government to achieve their greatest potential, and Recognizing that China with carve a uniquely Chinese path, that is best determined by the Chinese government and the Chinese people.

James Fallows also extols Bush's handling of US-China relations in a post entitled, "I don't get a chance to say this very often, so.... (compliment to GWBush):"

What made it good was that he emphasized the big picture -- that China, the U.S., and the world will be much better off if China and the US can cooperate than if they fight -- while also being clear about the values the U.S. should stand up for. After the jump, the passage we hard-boiled journalist types call the "nut graf," summarizing his point. GW Bush gives a speech that displays some familiarity with specifics and some subtlety about larger themes. Plus a mixture of idealism and practicality! I will stop here and offer no speculation about what might have been in other areas of policy. But I will suggest that members of the IOC might read the speech as a guide on being both cooperative and principled.

Fallows goes on to state that "the government and people of China do not have to agree with those sentiments [on human rights, mostly].... [but it's important for the American president to state them." Fallows also notes how Bush's China policy is "more sophisticated than anything that either John McCain or Barack Obama has said on the subject." That ought to be undisputed. The WSJ China Blog also has a nice post on this, quoting President Bush in Korea emphasizing how he has been saying essentially the same thing to China since he became President: You have nothing to fear from your own people. Again, how true. Just as an aside. Not only is the WSJ by the best US newspaper (both overall and on China), but it is one of the few newspapers that really gets it with its blogs. Unlike so many other newspapers whose blogs are little more than vanity sites for its reporters, WSJ blogs get right into the mix of blogging, citing to other blogs, and allowing a free flow of comments and trackbacks. Kudos on that. One more aside. Mostly out of self-preservation, I have to assume Condi Rice has had absolutely nothing to do with President Bush's China policy. It is difficult enough for me to credit President Bush with having done something right on foreign policy, but my entire world view would have to shift were I to believe Condi Rice capable of doing anything right on foreign policy. Probably the best thing about the upcoming presidential election is that no matter who wins, Condi Rice will be gone and we will have a better Secretary of State.

Full post as published by China Law Blog on August 08, 2008 (boomark / email).