Countering the U.S. Demands More than
Shouted Slogans
Is it time that
the People's Republic of China 'take off the gloves' with the United States? In
this article from China's state-controlled Global Times, strategic
analyst Long Tao explains why China must act now to teach President Barack
Obama and the United States a lesson they will never forget.
President Obama speaks to a small, specially selected and prepared group of Chinese young people, Nov. 16. Is Beijing about to teach him - and the United States - a lesson?
Once again, the United States
wants to sell weapons to Taiwan. This news came within days of Obama's winning
the Nobel Peace Prize and after the announcement of a troop surge in Afghanistan,
another major "peace" move.
Obama came to power shouting
the slogan "change." Now, after almost a year in power, apart from a
statement on paper of an intended withdrawal from Iraq, the world has seen little
"change" from the Bush Administration's war policy. With regard to
Sino-U.S. relations, his "change" is only tricks and appearances: while
the predecessor was harsh in his tone and elbows-out manner; the incumbent is
pleasant in tone and smiling in manner. But they do exactly the same thing.
Compared to his predecessor's mere words of intimidation, the current U.S. leader
is actually causing China substantial harm and the consequences will be
anything but light.
The United States is
imperialist in its thought. In its subconscious, its opponents never resist - that
is, there is no room for negotiation. It's forecast that if China can't force Washington
to form a memory of having "hit a wall," there can be no real
equality in future Sino-U.S. relations, nor will they be substantive or smooth.
In considering how to counter
the United States, Russia's experience is worth studying. After the
disintegration of the Soviet Union, Russia was at first enthusiastic toward the
United States, only to be hit by the dual "shock therapy" of a
poisoned economy and the continuation of the Cold War through NATO's eastward
expansion. In August 2008, Russia instigated a provocative regional
counter-attack against America [in Georgia], and then Russia issued this
combination of blows: the deployment of ballistic missiles targeting America's
anti-missile system in Eastern Europe; the stationing of strategic bombers in
America's "backyard;" the large-scale sale of weapons to Venezuela;
the establishment of closer ties with Iran; and military deterrence against
former Soviet states now friendly to the U.S.
This series of actions, which
apparently intensified Russian-U.S. relations, in fact generally stopped the
eastward advance of the American war chariot. This is why Obama suddenly
announced the withdrawal of the anti-missile system from Eastern Europe. After
this sign of weakness from the United States, NATO and Russia announced that
they would resume their dialogue, while U.S. strategists tried to persuade
Russia to form a strategic alliance.
Posted by
WORLDMEETS.US
If the U.S. would dare sell weapons
to Taiwan, why not sell them to Chechnya? The dramatic turn that Russian-U.S.
relations have taken since Obama's election offers China an excellent reference
point.
China and the United States
established diplomatic relations during the Reform
and Opening period. Good
Sino-U.S. relations during China's integration with the world was indeed a huge
help. But the achievements of China today are mainly the result of correct
policies and hard-working people. During Reform and Opening, the United
States benefited more than any other nation from contact with China, most
obviously from the $800 billion of U.S. Treasury Bonds that have been purchased.
Cheap Chinese goods have improved the quality of life for Americans, and
Chinese capital, to a certain extent, supports U.S. economic prosperity.
In 30 years of
relations. China has never done a thing to hurt the United States. But American
acts of interference in China's domestic affairs and attempts to curb its
national interests are too numerous to mention. On the Taiwan issue, China can
no longer raise protests that fall on deaf ears, break off military exchanges, or
use toothless methods like these to show we're hot under the collar. Making a
tiger walk on bamboo spines is the only way to stop him from advancing. Let the
U.S. feel real pain, and let Americans know that China's patience is limited.
According to the principle of reciprocity in international relations, China,
with reasonable and appropriate opposition, has a powerful need to sanction the
United States for its overbearance through, for example, canceling certain trade
benefits, selling heavy weapons to potential American rivals, or rejecting
certain strategic initiatives.
Posted by
WORLDMEETS.US
China isn't bereft of the ways
and means to punish the United States. But some people have always thought that
sanctions against the U.S. would incur too strong a reaction and that China's
interests would be worse off. It's precisely this way of thinking that leads us
to give an inch while they take a mile.
If China were to impose sanctions
on the U.S., the short term would see a tyrannical American display over its
loss of "face" and perhaps a brandishing of the big stick, but
fundamentally speaking, America wouldn't dare to completely burn its bridges.
Sanctions won't affect overall Sino-U.S. relations. Without China, the United
States would suffer setbacks militarily as well as in the contemporary
political world. This has been proven by history.
China pursues a foreign policy
of peace, but peace isn't to be begged for. If China is unwilling to confront
the United States, it is by no means due to a fear of confrontation. Now that
Obama is in power, China has need for stiff action to teach the young Black
president that whoever harms China's interests will pay the price. New China
dares to take action as well as responsibility, winning the world's respect for
the Chinese nation and never falling by the wayside.
* Long Tao [龙韬] is a
senior strategic commentator.
