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Hu Jintao's US Visit: Can't Hurry Cooperation

Chinese President Hu Jintao's visit to the US received more attention for what it was not and for what it did not achieve than for any positive outcomes. For starters, Hu Jintao did not get the state visit the Chinese had asked for; instead a Falun Gong protester greeted Hu on the White House lawns. Similarly, the US did not seem to have cut any ice with their guests either, with their litany of complaints ranging from the renminbi and the trade deficit to the lack of cooperation on North Korea and Iran.

Chinese media commentary and Vice-Premier Wu Yi's multi-billion dollar shopping expedition that preceded Hu's visit appeared to convey a sincere Chinese wish to achieve substantial results and Hu, like other world leaders, sought to use the photo-op with the US president to bolster his own standing back home. However, China possesses sufficient weight and confidence internationally to allow Hu to fend off excessive US demands. Finally, neither side was willing to give way on core issues and found nothing in common to form the substance of any major new agreement.

In the run-up to the visit, the Chinese media carried a detailed rebuttal of various American accusations on the trade front; picking out a Morgan Stanley report that said US consumers had saved about US $600 billion by buying Chinese products. The US was reminded that China's growth had a positive impact on its Asian neighbours, including Japan, which is now starting an economic recovery and that among the US' top 15 trade partners, its exports to China had increased at the fastest rate. China also picked up what is increasingly common knowledge that calculating the trade deficit based on the rules of origin did not take into account the fact that it was largely foreign owned enterprises that were responsible for major China's exports. As an article in the China Daily argued, it was more a case of "Made in Asia" than "Made in China." China's trade surplus was actually shared by the whole East Asian region rather than absorbed by China alone.

Two other important arguments were stressed in the Chinese press. One noted that it was American restrictions on technology transfers that had, since 1993, led to the growing US trade deficit. This was aimed at addressing the lack of technology transfers to China despite its high levels of FDI. As one commentary put it, the US "should not always expect the Chinese to buy planes or soybeans." The "key" to addressing the US trade deficit was "to lower the threshold of technology exports."

Another prominent line was an emphasis on the civilizational differences between the two powers. The People's Daily stated that "[t]he profound substance of China's peaceful development is the revival of the Chinese civilization." Stating that the trade disputes was "really caused by 'unequal' political relations rather than by trade 'disparity,' the US was accused of letting its domestic politics and ideological prejudice against China, its own idea of values" affects Sino-US relations. While telling the US to "not always criticize China's social system under the excuses of 'human rights' and 'democracy'," China did not fight shy of calling for democracy in international affairs and maintained their emphasis on equality in the Sino-US relationship. As Hu Jintao declared at a dinner hosted by the US-China Business Council, "The will of the people in all countries should be respected. Democracy and the rule of law should be advocated in international relations. The current international system and order should be gradually reformed and improved to make it just and equitable." The US might want China to be a "responsible stakeholder" in international affairs but the Chinese have their own interpretation of this term.

While stressing that differences - both present and future - between the two powers were inevitable, the Chinese were not quite ready for the letdown the visit proved to be. By the time Hu Jintao had flown out of the US, the People's Daily had switched to headlining "President Hu's visit to [Bill] Gates has great implications." Perhaps, this changed tack was best exemplified by a Chinese analyst opining that Sino-American ties had "gone beyond the stage of relying on leaders' visits for stability."

As far as implications for Japan and India go, both are assured of a continued American embrace. The challenge for both countries though, will be to retain their sight of China over the American shoulder, however warm the latter's embrace.