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The China Scapegoat

A story by New York Times.

May 29, 2005
The China Scapegoat
By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF
Beijing

The most important diplomatic relationship in the world is between the U.S. and China. It's souring and could get much worse.

Alas, the U.S. is mostly to blame for this. And the biggest culprit of all is the demagoguery of some Democrats in Congress.

There are plenty of legitimate reasons to be angry with China's leaders, but its trade success and exchange rate policy are not among them. The country that is distorting global capital flows and destabilizing the world economy is not China but the U.S. American fiscal recklessness is a genuine international problem, while blaming Chinese for making shoes efficiently amounts to a protectionist assault on the global trade system.

In fact, China's pegged exchange rate has brought stability to Asia, and the Chinese boom has tugged Japan out of recession and increased prosperity worldwide. In recent years, China has supplied almost one-third of the growth in the global economy (measured by purchasing power), compared with the 13 percent that came from the U.S.

Moreover, the U.S. has a history of offering Asia economic advice that proves awful. U.S. pressure helped produce Japan's disastrous bubble economy and aggravated the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis. So when American officials urge an adjustment in the yuan exchange rate, the Chinese should keep a hand on their wallets.

Over the last five years, President Bush has done an excellent job in managing relations with China - it's one of his very few successes in foreign policy - but lately he has engaged in protectionism. This month he reimposed quotas on certain Chinese textiles, and the Treasury warned China that it had better adjust its exchange rate or else.

Mr. Bush abandoned his principles because he was under attack from Democrats waving the bloody shirt of lost jobs. Sure, China's cheap yuan has cost us manufacturing jobs - but it has also led to a flood of Chinese capital to America, keeping interest rates low. If we blame China for lost American jobs in making shirts, we should credit it for new American jobs in banking and construction.

Americans are also unfair in accusing China of not stopping North Korea's nuclear program. The reality is that the North Koreans don't listen to the Chinese about anything, and many on each side look down on the other. Privately, some Chinese dismiss the North Koreans as "Gaoli bangzi" or Korean hillbillies. And fortified by a bit of liquor, North Koreans denounce Chinese as unscrupulous, money-grubbing traitors. Whenever I meet North Koreans, I tell them that the Chinese government doesn't like me - and my status soars.

China has been pushing hard in the last two years for a negotiated solution to the North Korean crisis, and it at least has a coherent policy on North Korea. That's more than you can say for the Bush administration.

One of the biggest risks for U.S.-China relations is the - very outside - chance that President Bush will order a military strike on the North Korean nuclear complex at Yongbyon. Most experts say that the resulting radiation leakage would probably not harm nearby countries, and in any case South Korea and Japan would be more at risk than China. But any hint that radiation had reached the Chinese coast would provoke anti-American fury across China.

There's a third big danger for U.S.-China relations, and this one is Beijing's fault: China's schools teach hatred of Japan, resulting in last month's street demonstrations in which Chinese protesters screamed slogans such as "Japanese must die."

The next act in the drama will unfold at sea. Japanese ships may start exploring disputed waters for oil and gas in the late summer or fall, perhaps with military escorts. China's leaders will then be under tremendous popular pressure to send China's own military vessels to block what Chinese will see as an armed Japanese incursion. And then Japan will ask the U.S. for help under the U.S.-Japan security treaty. ...

In the past, President Jiang Zemin protected the U.S.-Chinese relationship. But many Chinese scorned him as "qin Mei," or soft on the U.S. The new president, Hu Jintao, seems much less likely to go out on a limb to preserve good relations with the U.S.

So it's time for Americans to take a deep breath. Poisonous trade disputes with China will only aggravate the risks ahead, strengthen the hard- liners in Beijing and leave ordinary Chinese feeling that Americans are turning into China-bashers. Sadly, they'll have a point.

E-mail: nicholas@nytimes.com



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Everybody is busy these days

China and South Korea is working to put pressure on North Korea. They want Kim Jong-Il and his colleagues to come back to negotiation table. By doing this, China and South Korea are sure can demonstrate their influence in East Asia since they can do what the United States can’t accomplish. That will certainly earn them credits.

Another topic that both countries take part in is Japan and its wartime history. In Moscow, when celebrating the 60th anniversary of World War Two, China’s President Hu Jintao and South Korean’s President Roh Moo Hyun agreed that Japan should have a correct view of its history.

Speaking of Japan’s wartime history, the anti-Japan anger goes on. It goes beyond physical form, and the new battle field is the Internet and sports games. Thousands of Chinese Internet surfers, joined by South Korean counterparts, send e-mails and requests to Japanese websites. The information volume soon overloads those Japanese servers, and eventually crash down the servers. It is exactly what the Red Hackers, Chinese hackers prefer this name, did to the U.S.-based websites in 2001.

Actually, besides the above, the fire has spread out on sports games. The Chinese authorities urged soccer fans to keep calm, and not to throw objects on Japanese soccer players and fans. Well, the fans did that when the two countries played in the finals of Asian Soccer Champion last year. But who can guarantee anything?

James Soong flied to Beijing to meet with President Hu. This is the second wave of the cross-striate communication of the high officials.

China is said to “rewrite” its history book to extol the role played by the Communist Party. This is ironic, especially after the government just criticized Japan for its distorted history book. In fact, who played a more important role in World War Two, the Communist Party or KMT, is a widely discussed issue on the Internet. At last, surfers settled with this answer: it doesn’t matter who was more important as long as they were fighting the Japanese invaders.

Yeah, I know, everybody is busy these days. Partly because it is the end of the semester.

Good luck to everyone, and thank you for visiting my blog. Wish to see you guys in the fall semester. So sad, that is my last semester in Roosevelt Unitversity.

China and South Korea: future allies?

May 8 is Mother's Day, but that doesn't necessary mean everyone in the world will celebrate it.

Saturday, China called on Japan and South Korea to sign on a possible three-way free trade agreement, Japanese officials said. This the free trade agreement is believed to improve the tension among the three countries. This is a sign that China is releasing its goodwill to the neighbors, Japan and South Korea. Money and profit are still the maintream voice in the world, right?

Meanwhile, the leaders of China and South Korea met in Moscow and pledged to work to solve the North Korean nuclear bomb issue. China wants to be closer to South Korea, not only for North Korea, but also to confront with Japan in the future.

China won't talk to Chen Shui-bian

China turned down Chen Shui-bian's,Taiwan president, proposal to hold a peace walk, unless he drops his idea of formal independence for the island.

As Lien Chan, President of KMT, finished his ice-breaking trip to mainland, Beijing government sent him a panda as a gift to the people in Taiwan. Several days later, the communication between the Taiwan strait will reach another peak: James Soong, chairman of the People First Party (PFP) in Taiwan, will visit mainland China. So, Chen Shui-bian is the only politician who is not welcomed and turned down by Beijing.

Beijing declared that it will soon allow its residents to visit Taiwan. Surely it is good, since tourists will spend a lot of many in the tiny island. And the spoekesperson said allowing tourism will not only be conducive to boosting tourism, but will contribute to people-to-people contacts between the two sides of the Taiwan Straits.

Beisides, Hu Jintao, President of China, and President Bush will meet in Moscow next month. After that, Hu will visit Washington for a formal state visit. Then, Hu will return the favor in November, hosting Bush for a bilateral summit in Beijing. Taiwan issue will certainly be on the top of their list.

Taiwan's President Invites China to Talks

Lien Chan's hitorical visit to mainland China ended up with great vicotry. Mr. Lien and President Hun Jintao on Friday issued a joint pledge to promote an end to hostilities. On Monday, Lien called again for peace talks, saying mainland leaders appear more responsive to Taiwanese proposals on settling their 59-year-old feud than in the past.

This pledge had a active reponse from the current leader of Taiwan, Chen Shui-bian. He invited China's leaders to talks under the principles of "peace, democracy and parity" while visiting Mashall Islands.

China's plot of islolating Chen worked.

Wen Jinbao's visit to India: US-China cold war in the offing ?

The Daily Star Web Edition Vol. 5 Num 325

This is a good article analysising the relationships among China, India and the United States.

The reason I like it is that it offers a balanced, fair and in-depth view of the future relationship among the three contries.

China paper sees 'evil plot' in anti-Japan protests

China paper sees 'evil plot' in anti-Japan protests
According to this article, the recent anti-Japan protests were not patriotic behaviors, but were part of an "evil plot."

I feel strange abou it since I remember that the authorities claim that those protests were patriotic behaviors from the Chinese people comdemning Japan's wartime criminals.

I found the original Chinese copy, from the Liberation Daily in Shanghai, of this article and read it. I feel strange since the tone the article used is totally different from the central government's. It is not imageable in mainstream media in China since they need to follow the government's propoganda agenda.

What happened between Shanghai govenment and the central government?

China works on hazardous waste problem

World Peace Herald

China' government is working on pollution problems in five cities that are seriousely affected by pollution.
And successful solutions will be applied nationwide.