In today's New York Times there is a front page article describing President Obama's changing stance on U.S. - China relations. China has emerged as one of the worlds leading powers whose growing influence affects world and U.S. security and economic concerns. For that reason I believe that in the future the complicated U.S. - China relations will become one of the most important foreign policy issues and a major preoccupation of every U.S. Presidency.
The article explains that at the beginning of Mr. Obama's Presidency he hoped that by accommodating China he could encourage its cooperation on world issues like climate change and Iran's nuclear program. China remained problematic. Since his visit to China in 2010, Mr. Obama has taken a tougher stance towards Beijing. The article goes on to explain that the shift of American focus from Iraq and Afghanistan to the Pacific Rim has upset allies in Europe but has been met with enthusiasm in Asia. The United States has strengthened alliances with Japan and South Korea, opened the door to Myanmar, and established a Marine base in Australia.
In the past three months President Obama has filed two major cases against China at the world trade organization. At the same time, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has stated that the U.S. will help Japan deploy a new missile defense system. These moves may end up being some of the most consequential foreign policy decisions of Mr. Obama's presidency. The article outlines the development of President Obama's initial hope that the U.S. and China could put aside their differences to the reality of China's lack of cooperation and the need for a tougher approach to China on the part of the U.S. I think that China's influence in the world will continue to grow and U.S. foreign
policy will have to keep up in order to prevent China from becoming too
dominant.
