Obama cements China relationship
Updated
US President, Barack Obama first official visit to China comes as America's relative strength in world affairs is weighed down by the financial crisis, a ballooning debt and the crippling wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
China has also been thrust into a position of far greater global responsibility.
Presenter: Sen Lam
Speaker: United States President, Barack Obama; Hu Jintao, Chinese President; Chris McNally, at the East West Center in Hawaii
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MCNALLY: Certainly there were a lot of tough issues that were on the table, they were discussed behind the scenes. But in most issues, the United States and China agreed to disagree. Obama did not go to China to get immediate results but rather to build up a relationship that has become both more complex and more equal.
LAM: And of course, uppermost on that relationship and also on the leaders' minds were trade and economics, and here's Chinese President Hu Jintao through an interpreter:
HU: The two sides reiterated that they will continue to increase dialogue and cooperation in macro-economic and financial policies, and they will continue to have consultations on equal footing to properly resolve and address their economic and trade frictions in a joint effort to uphold the sound and steady growth of their business ties and trade.
LAM: China's President Hu Jintao speaking there through an interpreter. Chris McNally, the issue of the Chinese currency, the Renminbi of course is just one of the many tough economic and trade issues. Were they addressed in any meaningful way?
MCNALLY: Not at these meetings, basically both sides probably discussed them but the Chinese are digging in their heels. In many ways it would be beneficial for the Chinese to have a more freely floating currency because the peg to the US dollar right now, is really causing them problems within their own economy, there's a lot of liquidity flowing into China creating asset bubbles. And so the Chinese basically have changed the dialogue, they've changed the topic to blame the United States for having very low interest rates, exporting liquidity into the international system and therewith creating asset bubbles. But the basic underlying fact is that a more flexible Chinese currency would help the Chinese economy and the Chinese government in regulating its economy. But the Chinese at this point are so concerned with creating enough opportunities for employment within their own country, basically getting the export sector back up and running, that they're very cautious in doing anything with the currency. So partially, this really explains Hu Jintao's administration, it's extremely cautious, it doesn't want to move fast on any issues, and sometimes, that's actually dangerous.
LAM: And speaking of moving fast, climate change of course is also an issue that both leaders acknowledge with some urgency. But is there any likelihood of a tangible joint resolve ahead of Copenhagen in just under three weeks time?
MCNALLY: Not between the United States and China. China itself has actually agreed to adopt carbon intensity targets. What this means - that the Chinese do not have to reduce the overall amount of carbon that they admit into the atmosphere, but rather increase the efficiency of their own economy producing more economic growth, with less emissions. That is something the Chinese have been pushing for, something that somewhat runs counter to the whole spirit of Copenhagen and before Kyoto, in terms of trying to reduce the overall amount of greenhouse gas emissions in the world. But at least the Chinese are moving in what I would call a constructive direction. But there are many other issues there, very complicated issues and I do not see any major agreement between the United States and China, ahead of Copenhagen.
LAM: Human rights of course is yet another tough issue. This is what US President Obama had to say:
OBAMA: I spoke to President Hu about America's bedrock beliefs that all men and women possess certain fundamental human rights. We do not believe these principles are unique to America but rather they are universal rights and that they should be available to all peoples, to all ethnic and religious minorities. And our two countries agreed to continue to move this discussion forward, in a human rights dialogue that is scheduled for early next year.
LAM: President Obama. And Chris McNally I think there's already a US China dialogue on human rights. So are we expecting this dialogue to be advanced if you like, is there going to be more progress made?
MCNALLY: The present dialogue is at the level of the state department and probably what both President Obama and President Hu have agreed on is moving the dialogue up a notch. But will this make a big difference? Unlikely, the Europeans have held long-term dialogues with the Chinese. As you mentioned, the United States did so as well. It's unlikely that the Chinese will actually change their attitude a lot. However, President Obama has been very constructive in the sense that he's been leading by example. He's been showing a lot of respect, he's been coming across as a much younger and much more energetic leader than the Chinese leaders, and perhaps by leading by example, he can actually influence the Chinese public's perceptions of the United States, and increase their basically demands for human rights within China.
