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US-China Relations - 146. page

Plagued by Bin Laden, the U.S. Has Become a ‘Super Sick Cat’

China News Service republished an article by Hong Kong’s Wenweipo, citing the economic cost of the U.S. fight against bin Laden. “According to the Washington Post, since 9.11, the U.S. has spared no effort to pursue bin Laden. More than 263 intelligence agencies were rebuilt or reorganized. 1,271 government agencies, nearly 2,000 private companies, and a total of 200,000 people in 10,000 locations are carrying out anti-terrorism related intelligence work. Bin Laden is the first Arab in U.S. history that it has spent so much energy and resources to pursue. For 10 years, the U.S. has spent at least $100 million a day to catch him.” 

“According to U.S. media, the potential economic loss from hunting bin Laden ranges between US$2.8 to 5.0 trillion. … While the Clinton administration ended up with a slight surplus, today it has become a super sick cat. The world’s strongest superpower is facing the risk of bankruptcy.” 
The article continued, “… Americans know that although bin Laden is dead, the conflict between the U.S. and the extremists has not changed a bit. On the contrary, it may have intensified. This implies that the terrorist groups will continually launch unpredictable attacks and cause disasters. The Iraq and Afghanistan wars and economic crisis that Bin Laden brought have already crushed the U.S. and have made the U.S. become a really super sick cat.”

Source: China News Service, May 20, 2011
http://www.chinanews.com/hb/2011/05-20/3054805.shtml

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

Huanqiu: The West Cannot Win a Human Rights Dispute with China

China’s official Huanqiu newspaper published an editorial on May 14, 2011, commenting on U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s recent criticism of China’s human rights. (“They’re worried, and they are trying to stop history, which is a fool’s errand.”). The article, titled “The West Cannot Win a Human Rights Dispute with China,” said, “Why is it so hard for the West to achieve the ‘final victory?’ This relates to the fact that their purpose is twisted. The West now talks about human rights with China, but not the ‘various rights of a human being.’ The Western political system stealthily changed the word ‘human rights’ to give it a special meaning. According to this logic, as long as China’s way of social organization deviates from the West, its human rights development will be at a low level.” 

“As a rising China gradually becomes more of a competitor to the West, the starting point of Western criticism moves further away from reality and Chinese people’s interests; what remains is only the needs of Western centrism. The proportion of constructive suggestions dwindles, while pressure from impractical “orders on a whim” increases. The result is that, as long as the Chinese government and society are basically rational, they cannot accept the Western ‘human rights road map,’ because it is obviously a blueprint that is out of touch.”

Source: Huanqiu, May 14, 2011
http://opinion.huanqiu.com/roll/2011-05/1692549.html
Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Rebuttal to Clinton’s Comments on China

In an interview published in The Atlantic, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton criticized China’s “deplorable” human rights record and characterized the Chinese government’s attempt to suppress democratic reform as a “fool’s errand,” citing the recent revolutions in the Middle East as an example. In response, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Jiang Yu said, “It is inappropriate for anyone to compare China to the West Asian and North African countries. It would be futile for anyone to attempt to bring the Middle East crisis into China and change the development path that the Chinese people have chosen for themselves.”

Source: Xinhua, May 14, 2011
http://news.xinhuanet.com/2011-05/14/c_121414581.htm
Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

China’s Religious Authorities Rebut U.S. Religious Freedom Report

On May 6, 2011, secretary-generals of China’s five state-sanctioned religious groups held a joint meeting to evaluate the annual report of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom. A written consensus was published on Xinhua on the same day. 

The consensus states, “China is a country ruled by law and its citizens fully enjoy freedom of religious belief. … Religious followers in China have never been suppressed or restricted for conducting normal religious activities.” “The Chinese government has dealt with evil cults and cracked down on ethnic separatist forces according to the law. Such actions are fair, reasonable, lawful, and in accordance of the wishes of the Chinese people as well as our religious community.” “We have been in contact with many members of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom. Their views in the report are completely different from what they expressed when they were in China. This double-faced practice is puzzling to us. We hope the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom conducts a cool reflection. Always pointing fingers at others and making irresponsible remarks does not meet the true spirit of religion.”

Source: Xinhua, May 6, 2011
http://news.xinhuanet.com/2011-05/06/c_121388094.htm

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Foreign Companies Should Use Their Own Advantages to Succeed in China

In response to U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke’s critique of China’s investment environment in his talk on May 4, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Jiang Yu, stated that China has an open market. Companies from around the world should achieve success in the market by using their advantages and strength. 

Jiang cited measures that China has taken to improve the investment environment, but also stressed that, “The competition is fierce. We welcome foreign companies, including U.S. companies, to participate in China’s reform and open process.”

Source: Xinhua, May 5, 2011
http://news.xinhuanet.com/2011-05/05/c_121383473.htm

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

Chinese Scholars: After bin Laden’s death, the U.S. Faces More Difficulties

After the death of bin Laden, Chinese media published articles suggesting the U.S. faces more difficulties down the road. 

Gao Zugui, a CCP’s Central Party School professor wrote on People’s Daily Online, “The first issue is the legitimacy for the U.S. to continue its anti-terrorism actions in Afghanistan and Pakistan. … (The second is) the trend of terrorism has become more diversified and decentralized. … After bin Laden, someone else will become the new leader of Al-Qaeda and the terrorists will be more active.” 
        
Tsinghua University professor Zhao Kejin said on Global Times that the U.S. faces challenges: “First, whether the U.S. can maintain its world-wide anti-terrorism coalition.” “Second, whether Obama can consolidate the U.S. bipartisan consensus on anti-terrorism.” “Third, how to position anti-terrorism as a strategic priority in national security.”

Sources:
1. People’s Daily Online, May 3, 2011
http://world.people.com.cn/GB/14535176.html
2. Global Times, May 3, 2011
http://opinion.huanqiu.com/roll/2011-05/1666270.html

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

Red Flag Manuscript: Internet Freedom Has Become Clinton’s New Doctrine for U.S. Foreign Policy

Red Flag Manuscript, a publication of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, published a commentary by Zhou Hong, the director of the European division of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. Based on U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s February 15, 2011, speech on Internet Freedom given at George Washington University, Zhou concludes that the U.S. is shifting its foreign affairs strategy by launching “a war without borders in cyberspace.” As a result, China faces new challenges in its foreign affairs. 

The article states “Hillary was using war declaring language when she announced the State Department’s decision. She calls for having the countries that suppress Internet freedom pay economically and face the same threats of political unrest that Egypt and Tunisia faced.” “Hillary openly named China, Cuba, Iran, Burma, Syria, and Vietnam as countries that ‘censor content, do not allow their citizens to access the global Internet, and arrest bloggers who criticize the government.” “Hillary believes this is a major change in U.S. foreign policy. She said this is a critical choice made by the U.S. government in a critical moment.” 
“Hillary’s above statement, along with her Internet freedom speech in 2009, indeed tells of a new U.S. foreign policy strategy: As the status of U.S. hard power is significantly declining, it is increasingly using soft power in a skillful way to serve its foreign affairs.” 
The article points out that China also faces new social challenges in foreign relations as a result of the Internet war the U.S. has launched. “There is no doubt that our foreign affairs will also face a transition from traditional foreign dealings to social foreign affairs, which include a variety of channels, with the Internet as the key component.” “How we can use the Internet and other social channels to tell a convincing ‘Chinese Story’ to our people and to the international community has become a pressing task."

Source: Red Flag Manuscript, April 27, 2011
http://www.qstheory.cn/hqwg/2011/201108/201104/t20110427_78514.htm

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

Global Times: China-U.S. Human Rights Dialogue Should Not Be Like a Negotiation

The website Global Times, published an opinion article commenting on the ongoing human rights dialogue between China and the U.S. The article says that it has been 21 years since the dialogue started in 1990, but the two sides have never found it to be a truly satisfactory conversation. On the contrary, it is a testing exercise to confirm the two countries’ differing values and political disagreements. The article says, “The U.S. is always very imposing. This time it gave us a long list of prisoners and demanded that China release them ahead of the dialogue. The U.S has made similar requests before and has criticized China for not complying with the requests.” The article comments, “China hopes it’s a real ‘dialogue,’ and understands the other side’s meaning of human rights through communication. … China and the U.S. human rights dialogue should not become a negotiation. It is a prerequisite that no one has the right to lecture the opposite side. … The U.S. government often pressures China using human rights as a diplomatic tool or an answer to the domestic media’s radical voice, and hopes to get China’s ‘cooperation.’ China has no obligation to perform in accordance with Washington’s expectations.”

Source: Global Times, April 28, 2011
http://world.huanqiu.com/roll/2011-04/1659020.html

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations