Michael J. Green and Daniel M. Kliman: What the U.S. and Other Democracies Must Make Clear to China
[Michael J. Green is a senior adviser and Japan chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and an associate professor at Georgetown University. Daniel M. Kliman, a visiting fellow at the Center for a New American Security, is writing a book on rising powers.]
When Chinese President Hu Jintao visits Washington this week, there will be lots of ruffles and flourishes. Both governments will refer to the "positive, cooperative and comprehensive" relationship they seek to build. There is nothing wrong with positive diplomacy, but President Obama should not shy away from highlighting an area where the United States and China sharply diverge: political values. This is not just a matter of managing U.S. domestic politics but also an issue of long-term strategy as China rises.
The international system has experienced comparable surges of national power in the past 150 years. As Japan and Germany rose in the early 20th century, these states lacked the rule of law and transparent governance that offered other states multiple avenues for reassurance and shaping of strategic behavior. The result was rivalry and, eventually, war. The United States, by contrast, rose to power peacefully; even as America displaced Britain, the British and others enjoyed access and influence in its open political system. Democratic governance in postwar Japan ensured that its rise during the 1980s created limited tension with the United States and not serious conflict....
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When Chinese President Hu Jintao visits Washington this week, there will be lots of ruffles and flourishes. Both governments will refer to the "positive, cooperative and comprehensive" relationship they seek to build. There is nothing wrong with positive diplomacy, but President Obama should not shy away from highlighting an area where the United States and China sharply diverge: political values. This is not just a matter of managing U.S. domestic politics but also an issue of long-term strategy as China rises.
The international system has experienced comparable surges of national power in the past 150 years. As Japan and Germany rose in the early 20th century, these states lacked the rule of law and transparent governance that offered other states multiple avenues for reassurance and shaping of strategic behavior. The result was rivalry and, eventually, war. The United States, by contrast, rose to power peacefully; even as America displaced Britain, the British and others enjoyed access and influence in its open political system. Democratic governance in postwar Japan ensured that its rise during the 1980s created limited tension with the United States and not serious conflict....