Fareed Zakaria: A 'Hedge' Strategy Toward China
[Fareed Zakaria writes an occasional column for the WaPo.]
Two years ago Barack Obama was superman. Now he can't do anything right. His trip to Asia has been reported as a failure because he didn't get a trade deal with South Korea or a currency devaluation from China. But the visit had broader purposes and was largely successful at those, though this is just the start of a complex set of foreign policies that should constitute the core of a new American grand strategy....
The right reaction is not containment. A too-easy analogy is being made between the American response to the Soviet Union and Washington's policy toward China. The Soviet Union was an aggressive global adversary. It actively threatened Western countries and allies, supported wars and guerrilla movements, and funded adversaries and terrorist groups, all aimed at destabilizing Western interests. It offered itself as an alternative model to countries all over the world. Though it had an economy that was a fraction the size of America's, the Kremlin built a vast military establishment with tens of thousands of nuclear weapons....
I would propose thinking of American policy toward China more in terms of a "hedge" strategy....
Read entire article at WaPo
Two years ago Barack Obama was superman. Now he can't do anything right. His trip to Asia has been reported as a failure because he didn't get a trade deal with South Korea or a currency devaluation from China. But the visit had broader purposes and was largely successful at those, though this is just the start of a complex set of foreign policies that should constitute the core of a new American grand strategy....
The right reaction is not containment. A too-easy analogy is being made between the American response to the Soviet Union and Washington's policy toward China. The Soviet Union was an aggressive global adversary. It actively threatened Western countries and allies, supported wars and guerrilla movements, and funded adversaries and terrorist groups, all aimed at destabilizing Western interests. It offered itself as an alternative model to countries all over the world. Though it had an economy that was a fraction the size of America's, the Kremlin built a vast military establishment with tens of thousands of nuclear weapons....
I would propose thinking of American policy toward China more in terms of a "hedge" strategy....