[Het
Parool, The Netherlands]
Financial Times
Deutschland, Germany
Obama's China Trip
Announces a 'World Without Leadership'
"At
least since the time of Napoleon, we Europeans have lived with a somewhat
fearful suspicion that China will likely wake up one day as a giant of global
politics. Now that time has come."
By Thomas Klau*
Translated By Stephanie Martin
November 19, 2009
Germany - Financial Times Deutschland -
Original Article (German)
After the cool treatment of
Europeans, now comes a soft stance toward China. During his first visit to Asia,
U.S. President Barack Obama, sober as always in his approach to foreign policy,
has drawn his conclusions about the reorganization of the global power arena. In
accordance with the wishes of the Chinese leadership, human rights rhetoric was
almost entirely missing from Obama’s public statements. Behind closed doors he
may have made demands on some key issues like Iran; in public, however, anything
that may have suggested America as school master and China as the one receiving
instruction was avoided.
Obama’s China visit was more
than a passing episode. It most likely documents the definitive end of a historic
epoch, in which the foremost Western power was able to present itself
internationally as the ultimate authority on good government and good business,
without incurring more than the weak protestations of those who were comparatively
unsuccessful.
Until
recently, we all thought that the peaceful fall of the Berlin Wall marked the
beginning of a global era of democracy. Today we suspect that the bloody end of
the democracy experiment in Tiananmen
Square [photo, left] was an equally important event. Twenty years ago,
democracy won in Europe and lost in China. That’s why the turnaround year of
1989 [year the Wall fell] marked the beginning of the end of a historic era - an
era in which Western concepts of good governance and good business almost
entirely dominated the global discourse. If things stay this way because China
continues to do splits between free and un-free politics, the Tiananmen Square
massacre will be, unfortunately, the 1989 event with the strongest influence on
the future.
THE
POST-AMERICAN AGE
We are slowly beginning to
get used to this new, post-American world. Peeved, we see that the globally
more modest United States treats its coolly-controlling lender China with
greater care than it does the European Union, which resembles a dovecot with all
of its comings and goings. Somewhat amazed, we see that after Russian
millionaires, newly-wealthy mainland Chinese now also stop off at the most
expensive European luxury hotels. This is new, but the truth is that it's not
entirely surprising.
Posted by WORLDMEETS.US
At least since
the time of Napoleon, we Europeans have lived with a somewhat fearful suspicion
that China will likely wake up one day as a giant of global politics. Now that
time has come. The "multi-polar world," battle cry of French President
Jacques Chirac against his American colleague’s affectations of global rule in
the era of the Iraq War, is the reality today: it is accepted, almost checked
off the list and even welcomed by some. Our problem is, however, that having
the courage to recognize this is a long way from having the courage to create
anew.
Let’s look at our new multi-polar,
globalized, Internet-connected world: an economic disaster of almost
unparalleled proportions was averted only because public debt in many countries
has been pumped up to levels that are difficult to bear. And it is far from
obvious that governments and legislators will be able to bring themselves to address
the world's most pressing problems with anything more than cosmetic surgery.
PART
2: HAGGLING OVER EMISSIONS TRADING
Climate change is no longer a
prediction, but a dramatic reality. And yet on no continent have we been able
to address the political and practical consequences. The haggling over emissions
trading within the E.U.; the U.S.' inability to reform its health systems while
at the same time seriously address the issue of CO2 emissions. All of this, and
China’s unwillingness to lead globally on this issue, all lead one to conclude
that under present circumstances, political systems are likely structurally incapable
of regaining enough control over the destructive potential that has developed
in the global economy - both to our physical well-being and the stability of
our societies. Perhaps our children will curse today’s generation of political
leaders - and where there are voters, the people who elected them - because
they in full consciousness stood idly by and allowed significant parts of humanity
to drift into a genuine catastrophe.
Posted by WORLDMEETS.US
UNREALISTIC
THINKING
A few weeks ago behind closed
doors, one of the world’s leading central bankers suggested a scenario of rapid
economic and technical development that from a structural perspective, far
outstrips government’s ability to react. It takes far too long for national
legislators to agree on creating new sets of rules and then for urgently-needed
international talks to be held. Meanwhile, the IT revolution has accelerated
change at an enormous rate.
President Barack Obama visits China's Great
Wall, Nov. 18.
CLICK HERE OR CLICK PHOTO
FOR BBC COVERAGE OF TRIP'S END
SEE ALSO ON THIS:
Global Times, China :
The Well-Disguised
'Arrogance' Behind
Obama's Royal Bow
The Times, U.K.:
Obama Bow Shows 'Confidence'; Need
for Change After Bush
Global Times, China:
Addiction to Growth is China's 'Berlin Wall'
Global Times, China:
U.S. and Beijing Disagree on Obama's Chinese Name
Global Times, China:
Chinese Netizens Have 'Sharp Words' for President Obama
China Daily, China:
Obama Can Teach
Shanghai Officials
a Thing or Two
China Daily, China:
VIDEO - Chinese React to
Visit of President Obama
Global Times, China:
'Obscene Postcard' Emerges
of Taiwan President and Hillary
Der Spiegel:
German Editorials - Obama's Soft Approach to China Won't Succeed
The Times, U.K.
Obama's Bow to Japan Emperor
Shows U.S. 'Confidence'
The Telegraph, U.K.:
Obama 'Breaks
Conciliatory Tone';
Criticizes China Censorship
The Australian, Australia:
Obama's Personal Story No
Substitute for Policy in Asia
Globe & Mail, Canada:
China 'Plays Down' President Obama's Visit
Posted by WORLDMEETS.US
With its innovations of Europe's
common foreign policy, the Lisbon
Treaty is a small indicator that the E.U. and Europe are partly aware that
things cannot go on as before. But it will take more than a decade to raise public
awareness enough to ensure effective European action. It may well be that never
in the history of human civilization have existential problems been as global
as they are today. Yet we continue to organize government as if solving global
problems were a luxury that states can afford to confront only if they fit into
its domestic policy agenda.
We've hardly even begun to discuss
the fact that with an eye toward political stability, the world needs much stronger
global decision-making bodies to ecologically control international growth. But aren’t
much stronger global decision-making bodies unrealistic? Of course they are. But
the recent explosion of our national debt was a warning shot. We must immediately
concentrate on the unrealistic if the reality in which we live is to remain
pleasant enough to remain in.
*Thomas Klau is an FTD columnist and heads the Paris Office of the European
Council on Foreign Relations.
CLICK HERE FOR GERMAN VERSION
[Posted by WORLDMEETS.US November 21, 3:55pm]
