US-China Relations - 155. page

After the United States witnessed the critical role that Facebook played in assisting people to bring down the totalitarian regimes in Tunisia and Egypt, it began using Twitter to encourage the opposition in Iran, said Xinhua in an article titled “The U.S. Uses Twitter to Stoke Fires in Iran.” “On February 13, the U.S. Department of State started posting messages in Persian to two Twitter accounts. One message said, ‘We hope to join your dialog.’ The other said, ‘The U.S. calls on Iran to allow people the universal right to peaceful assembly and to hold protests.”

Source: Xinhua, February 16, 2011
http://news.xinhuanet.com/mil/2011-02/16/c_121087738.htm

On February 8, 2011, the U.S. Department of Defense published the National Military Strategy of United States of America 2011. Xinhua published several articles discussing the book. One review stated that in its military strategy, the U.S. will focus on Internet wars and on the Asia-Pacific region. Regarding an Internet war, the article gave the following summary: In developing the future armed forces, the new strategy stresses the “threat of an Internet war,” and for the first time lists “coping with the threat of an Internet war” as a separate military strategy. (1)

Another article was titled, “The U.S. National Military Strategy Report Is Meant to Target China.” The article said, “The report didn’t overtly mention China, but China’s influence is obvious in the text.” “Even when it’s not talking about Asia, the main focus is not too far away from China’s military expansion.” The article relied heavily on foreign media reports to make its point. (2)

Sources: Xinhua, February 10, 2011
(1) http://news.xinhuanet.com/world/2011-02/10/c_121059545.htm
(2) http://news.xinhuanet.com/world/2011-02/10/c_121062092.htm

People’s Daily published an article commenting on how China is conducting an advertising campaign on CNN to promote China. The same ad is also being displayed with high frequency in New York’s Times Square. The ad started on January 17, 2011, and will continue until February 14, 2011. 
 

The article’s author stated that this kind of national image promotion campaign is a long-term investment. “With this type of strategic effort, we can develop a good international environment for China to prosper, and create a reputation as a good ‘product-manufacturing country’ to support Chinese companies. These efforts are a strategic investment in advertising our national image and can generate enormous value." 

Source: People’s Daily, February 8, 2011
http://opinion.people.com.cn/GB/13871770.html

Since 2005, Americans have admitted that they can’t prevent China’s rise. They have even realized that the U.S. needs China more than China needs the U.S. They have fewer and fewer cards to play. Thus, the U.S. must seek new strategies to hinder China’s rise and international expansion. 1) Regarding regional security, the U.S. is mobilizing its allies, and uses conflicts between China and its neighbors to establish allies to guard against the “China threat.” 2) In finance and the RMB exchange rate, it maintains pressure on China. 3) In the international media, the U.S. spreads the view that “China is arrogant” and uses various new versions of the “China threat.”

In this battle, China must maximally maintain the stability of its “strategic opportunity phase.” China should not act emotionally. It should remain calm and make no changes to cope with outside changes. The future of China-U.S. relations is totally dependent on how the two side’s compare in how much power they have. At present, China’s biggest advantage is its own development.

Source: Huanqiu, January 30, 2011
http://finance.huanqiu.com/roll/2011-01/1473479.html

Every year for the three years that Obama has been in office, he has mentioned China in his State of the Union address. The number of times he brought up China has doubled each year, from once in his first address to four times most recently. He only casually mentioned China in 2009. In 2010, he declared that the “U.S. won’t accept second position.” In 2011, he admitted the reality of the U.S.’s declining status. The delicate changes in Obama’s outlook on China were clearly reflected in his three addresses.

Source: Xinhua, January 26, 2011
http://news.xinhuanet.com/world/2011-01/26/c_121027738.htm

China’s military newspaper published an article by General Xu Guangyu on Hu’s visit to the U.S. It stated that during President Hu’s visit, both parties confirmed they would establish a cooperative partnership. “Per public opinion, this marks the beginning of the U.S. treating China as its global partner. For China, it carries pressure and responsibility – we have made achievements beyond the imagination of the outside world. Yet there are numerous subjective and objective problems and challenges. If we do well, the future will be bright and promising. If we do not do well, there will be twists and turns. As we empower our country and adapt to globalization, we must be more clear-minded and rational, calm but not servile, strong but not overbearing.”

Source: People’s Liberation Army Daily, January 30, 2011 reprinted at Huanqiu.com
http://mil.huanqiu.com/china/2011-01/1474089.html

According to an article in Qiushi Journal, economic strategy remains the heart of the U.S. overall long-term strategy, which is to transfer its domestic crisis to China. The economic strategy includes friction over the exchange rate, trade, agricultural produce, currency, resources, and energy. The exchange rate issue has always been the focus and is the make or break point. Political and diplomatic moves are designed to support the economic strategy. Politically, the U.S. uses human rights, climate, the China threat, and China’s "arrogance." Its diplomacy includes joining forces with the European Union and Japan and controlling China’s neighboring countries, thus encircling China politically. For the U.S. to re-enforce its military presence in the Northeast Asian region also supports its economic strategy.

Source: Qiushi, January 26, 2011
http://www.qstheory.cn/lg/zl/201101/t20110126_63559.htm

Because of Hu Jintao’s visit to the United States, many have expressed concern for Gao Zhisheng, the lawyer who was ”disappeared” twice and cruelly tortured for defending Christians, political and religious dissenters, and Falun Gong.

On January 10, 2011, AP released an interview with Gao, taken before his second disappearance, in which he discussed his torture, including electric shocks to his genitals, near suffocation, and temporary blindness from cigarettes held close to his eyes.

In a speech given Friday, January 14, 2011, Secretary of State Clinton specifically mentioned Gao Zhisheng. At a congressional press conference on January 18, 2001, Bob Fu of ChinaAid requested that President Obama ask Hu Jintao to free Gao and let him come to the United States to be reunited with his wife and two children. Fu has been circulating a letter that Gao gave his wife, Geng He, before she and their children escaped to the United States. Gao is still missing. No one knows his whereabouts or whether he is still alive.

Sources:
Christian Newswire, January 20, 2011
http://www.christiannewswire.com/news/9101616001.html
Washington Post, January 10, 2011
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/10/AR2011011001287.html