(CNN) -- The Communist Party leaders inside the
Zhongnanhai compound in Beijing may have found solace in the
Obama-Romney debates: Though China was mentioned 53 times, both
presidential candidates avoided harsh rhetoric toward China.
Despite Romney's repeated
avowal to label China a "currency manipulator" and Obama's branding of
China as "an adversary," both sounded moderate and called China a
partner, which leaves the door open for building a good working
relationship with China's new leaders. The candidates traded jabs on how
they would deal with the trade and currency issue but skipped other
major controversial topics such as human rights, Tibet and censorship.
To Beijing's relief and to American conservatives' disappointment, the
highly anticipated "China bashing" was absent from the debates.
Also missing was the big
picture -- America's relative decline, China's rapid rise and the
ensuing power restructuring in the global system. Is the United States
ready to cope with an increasingly powerful, confident and yet
non-democratic China? The real issue is not whether China is a currency
manipulator or not -- after all, the yuan has appreciated more than 11%
since 2010 and more than 30% since 2005.
Zhiqun Zhu is the author of "US-China Relations in the 21st Century."
Obama's and Romney's
narrow focus on trade and currency when mentioning China, which is
understandable due to America's lackluster recovery, and their dodging
of other major problems between the two countries may be misinforming
Americans who, as a result, do not fully understand the nature of this
complex relationship.
This is a multifaceted
relationship, strong but difficult at times. The biggest challenge the
two countries face is the power transition between them, as China
continues to gallop ahead and is expected to surpass the United States
as the largest economy within a decade. Both countries are struggling to
deal with the new power structure in the international system.
In fact, China is rising
so rapidly that it has difficulty adjusting to its newfound power and
sometimes behaves clumsily in international affairs as evidenced in
China's perceived forcefulness in the recent Diaoyu/Senkaku dispute and
South China Sea controversy.
U.S. politicians are used
to speaking from a position of dominance. Both Obama and Romney claimed
they would push China to "play by the rules." Such a condescending
approach will not work with today's more assertive and nationalistic
China.
Bigger threat: China or Europe?
The United States must
play by the rules first. For example, Huawei was recently singled out by
Congress as a company threatening U.S. national interests and was
essentially declared unwelcome in the U.S. The telecoms giant has
businesses globally, including a recent £1.3bn investment in the United
Kingdom which would create 500 jobs. In September, Obama issued a rare
presidential order instructing Ralls Corp., whose owners are Chinese, to
divest itself of four Oregon wind farm projects near a military base,
citing a national security threat. But firms operated by other foreign
owners in the same area are apparently conducting business as usual.
Where is the level playing field?
Best moments from the final debate
The United States still
maintains some Tiananmen-era sanctions against China, including the ban
on exports of high-tech equipment and products to China. One wonders how
the United States can narrow its trade deficit with China, if it only
sells apples and oranges to China?
China: U.S. election scapegoat?
Is China friend or foe?
This often-asked question misses the central point that the United
States and China are so interdependent that they no longer have the
luxury to make such a choice.
How will China factor in final debate?
The two countries are
separated by huge gaps in political systems and cultural values, which
can be a major cause of conflict. The two governments still deeply
distrust each other. Since the Obama administration's implementation of
its "strategic rebalancing" toward Asia in 2010, the U.S. government has
failed to convince China and many other countries in Asia that its
purpose is not to counter China's growing power. America's deployment of
more forces in the Asia-Pacific region and beefing up its alliances
with China's neighbors smack of a policy of encircling China. Of course
containment will not work in this day and age, and Asian countries do
not want to be drawn into a great power conflict.
Osnos on China's upcoming transition
It has become
politically incorrect to say anything good about China during America's
elections. Candidates tend to compete over who is tougher on China. It
has become an accepted norm to blame China for America's domestic woes.
Such practices may help a candidate to win an election, but they are
very harmful to U.S.-China relations in the long term. The United States
is at the risk of creating a resentful China during the Asian power's
transition to a more diverse and open society.
Presidential candidates on China
Nothing is wrong with
focusing on economic issues now, but Americans should never lose sight
of the big picture. As a global leader, the United States has the moral
responsibility to help promote democracy, human rights and rule of law
in the world. With China in transition, the United States has a great
opportunity to help shape the future of a nation with which it will be
politically and economically intertwined for generations to come.