Hu Jintao ‘Showing His Tail’: Visit Will Encourage Further Belligerence
Chinese President Hu Jintao will receive full honors at the White House tomorrow. There will be a 21-gun salute in the morning and a state dinner in the evening.
The Obama administration is desperately trying to create a positive atmosphere after a tense year. The underlying theory is that rolling out the red carpet for the Chinese autocrat is a signal of cooperation that will eventually be reciprocated.
This is the way we would like relations with the Chinese to work, but the state visit is a mistake. The honor bestowed on Mr. Hu will only feed his sense of arrogance and make him even more difficult to deal with in the future.
How do we know this? This is not the first mistake of the administration when it comes to Beijing. The White House sent two signals of cooperation, one in February 2009 delivered by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and the other in November of that year delivered by Jeffrey Bader of the National Security Council. Both initiatives backfired, producing belligerence — the exact opposite of what we hoped for. Where we intended a gesture of friendship, Beijing saw an indication of weakness and pressed the advantage.
Unfortunately, last week we saw that the Chinese have not turned over a new leaf. They publicly humiliated Defense Secretary Robert Gates when he visited their capital. First came a dressing down over Taiwan, then the first flight test of the J-20, the Chinese stealth fighter. Finally, on the first day after he left their capital, state media carried hawkish comments of Chinese flag officers as they administered a public tongue-lashing of Secretary Gates.
Yet the defense secretary struck back. In Tokyo, Mr. Gates for the first time publicly said U.S. troops in Asia were there to deter China. This rhetorical shift indicates the administration may not be infinitely patient with hostile Chinese officials, civilian or military.
China needs access to USA markets period. We must use this as a lever to achieve our objectives. We are funding the build-up of their military which must stop. Timely exercises with our ASEAN partners and closer coop with Japan, Taiwan and South Korea is necessary. A formal agreement with India should be considered. We have created this problem, and like Dr Frakenstein can eliminate it.
Since Obama surely wont take the advice offered here, the only “good” that can come out of it is for the American people to see, yet again, that he is hopelessly outclassed on the world stage. Any of our enemies are happy when we have a weak president, but they have something of a dilemma… press their advantage with one hard enough, and you get a weak president followed by a strong one (think Reagan). I think it is the only thing keeping the wolves at bay right now.
All we can hope is that a wolf steps in far enough that the “sheep” see what it is, without doing any real damage.
Kind of like cowering before the “bully” on the playground.
Guess what, the “bully” will beat you up until you stand up to him.
But maybe this doesn’t pertain to community organizers?
Good point joeybiten.but when has anyone seen barack obama not bow to every dictator,totalitarian,sponsor of terrorist,genocidal murder,or human traffickers.so the question regarding his cowering should maybe be something like this using china;s presidents name hu jin tau.In a sentence.President obama.you are best known for bowing to america’s enemies so;hu jin cow tau to today?Jimmy Joe”The Liarfryer”
Greatly disagreed with the article.
1) Obama is left with little choice since Bush had left him a lot of mess from the left-over in Iraq and Afghanistan which had not be solved till today
2) If that is not enough the “sub-prime” issue had cause almost the US to go bankrupt.
3) The strong resistance of China towards America is due to security reason especially when Obama gives go-ahead the approved the sale of US 6.4 billion of military weapon (during the dying days of Bush in the White House) to Taiwan.
This is akin or by anology of China delivery of Chinese weapon to California or Alabama or Hawaii (which US cliam sovereignity)with the exception that Us did not exercise total control.
4) Further China is the largest creditor of US. In fact China exercise tremendous goodwill during the trying time of America, never extracting whatever advantage or arm-twist America during this period. What is the return? Obama gives go-ahead of the sale to Taiwan. US had bite the hands that feed her!
5)Telling the Japanese that the presence of American troops is to protect them is only a rhetoric exercise of Gates. In truth it is more like, America want total dominannce of this part of the world to her advantage
6) Further Gates words is nothing more than to further American interest especially as as salesman for the mich-criticised F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, which was about to be rejected even by American ally, Australia.
7)J-20 flew during Gates presence in China is only a co-incidence that was schedule long before Gates arrival. In fact it is a honour to Gates, not only China military are more open-up/ transparent as Gates had propounded, even more so, China allow Gates to visit the ICBM missile control room, where he is ONLY foreign dignitary – as the Defence Secretary – that had been allowed there. Such is the great honour China had given Gates
8) China interest in America economic recovery is as importance to the American themselves. That is why not only Obama but all American as well should gives great honour when President Hu will be visting America soon. Don’t make the mistake twice.
Like the author of this article you both are travelling along on mostly irrelevant paths. You both have fallen to following all the rhetoric designed for respective audiences which is far from the mutually recognized realities between the various leaders over many decades…in fact, a couple of centuries.
Sorry but that is nonsense. The Chinese demanded a bailout of commercial paper holders of Freddie and Fannie, the largest single holder being…. China.
Send in Moochelle; She could scare a nightcrawler up a tree.
#4. Joseph Tan
Jesus Christ– agit-prop shills for the Chinese government really should take a more professional approach to what they’re doing. You are pathetic.
Our naif of a president and his administration have very little or no experience with Chinese “face” gamesmanship.
Charlie….U.S. Presidents come and go! Contrary to all the populist rhetoric of the coming and going administrations, very little foreign relations ever get permanently effected by them. Foreign relations is conducted by the “career” and contract diplomatic folks who work with historic and a multitude of current variables across many intra government departments, agencies and their foreign ally counterparts. There is a great deal of historic and ongoing continuity in foreign relations in spite of any current sitting president and his administration. That said, [nearly] every sitting President has been able to temporarily divert some of the continuity gained. I’m sure you’ve heard of “back-door” negotiations. Welcome to the world of “careers”, contractors and special envoys.
Good Morning, T.T. Thomas…..
What you say is indeed very true; …particularly the “going”, I hope, in Obama & Co.’s case.
The first President I ever saw (riding by in one of our Inaugural parades in Washington) was Franklin Roosevelt looking exactly like that iconic photograph of him in that open touring car with his very large head ( some then said “swelled”..) thrown back and that massive jaw grinning from ear to ear. Eleanor smiling more modestly seated beside him because she had such large prominent front teeth. That was before the Second World War, and was on a March 4th when we then had our Inaugurations. I was a child, my feet were freezing and my father took me into a nearby restaurant for hot chocolate. Of course I remember that to this day…..
…and I stand by my quip that Obama & Co. are naifs….more ill-equipped than any of the others whom I’ve seen come and go. However, American Resilience will see us through these Administration changes, much to my delight at the recurring irritation of our many, many detractors, and those who belittle all things American.
Color me chauvinist.
Cheers!
Charlie…I think we’re mostly on the same page. You’re fortunate to have witnessed any of the Presidents of our time. Sadly, our families were far to remote and far to busy trying to keep our farms and ranches producing something edible and sustainable, having just encountered the market crash the year I was born followed by the circumstances of the dust bowl and depression that besieged us.
I agree that Mr. Obama is second highest on the list of [incompetents] to have reached the White House….beaten only by Mr. Carter. Among socialist progressives Mr. Obama is among four of the most radical presidents and administrations having moved Traditional America and its Constitution to ruin.
The Western liberal democracies, especially the United States, have played a dangerous and very risky game.
We have transferred our wealth, technology and manufacturing base to a totalitarian regime, the Peoples Republic of China.
Simultaneously, we have transferred our wealth and energy independence to a totalitarian theocracy, the Islam petro-states.
We have also made huge transfer payments to the Islamic non-petro states like Pakistan.
The result is that we are the worlds largest debtor nation, totally dependent on totalitarian terror states for our products and our energy.
This risky gambit has been tried before and failed. NAZI Germany, Fascist Italy, Imperial Japan were all totalitarian terror states who became economically and industrially empowered. That did not lead to greater peace or greater prosperity. It led to World War.
There is no doubt in my mind that the communist Chinese Totalitarians and the Islamic Totalitarians would collude to collapse the Free West, aided and abetted by their junior henchmen states like Venezuela.
The Islamic Totalitarians have oil. The Chinese totalitarians need oil and have money and industrial manufacturing capacity. Neither cares about liberty or human rights. Both detest the free and prosperous West. Both are motivated by supremecist mentalities. Both seek hegemonic power.
Prepare for a rough century ahead.
~ The Infidel Alliance
Official White House Tapes of Meeting Between Presidents Obama and Hu Jintao
19 January 2011
Commence 09:15:09 EST
POTUS: Mr. President, allow me take this opportunity to extend the warmest possible welcome on behalf of the American people, I hope that this meeting can be productive and mutually……
POPRC: Lower!
POTUS: Ummm, excuse me?
POPRC: If you are going to bow like that, do it right! Bow lower!
POTUS: Oh, okay, sorry, didn’t realize I was doing it wrong. Is this better?
POPRC: Lower! And why you look at me like that, barbarian?
POTUS: Ummm, okay, I guess I can get a little lower? But aren’t you supposed to make eye contact when you bow? I mean, that’s how it was in the first Karate Kid movie and all that….
POPRC: Shut up! Bow lower! Can’t you do anything right? All I want to see is back of your head! Okay, I guess that best you can do, stupid barbarian dog. Now let’s get down to business.
POTUS: Um, okay, sure, yeah. Listen, I think we need to talk about this whole currency business. Some of my folks over at treasury….
POPRC: Shut up! What for you try to tell me about currency? You think currency is magic American credit card you just spend whatever you want and bill never comes due! Why you think you can talk to me about currency, you greedy capitalist pig-dog! I tell you, you no tell me! You understand that… Read the rest here… http://beautifulletters-bls.blogspot.com/2011/01/chinese-president-hu-jintao-visits.html
China has come a long way to be a creditor nation. How many nation can work as hard & save, compared to many other former Communist state.
America have succeed instilling Capitalism to China & it is working.
Time to work together with China & engage its leaders at all levels, and also people to people relationship. Time will change China as it has done for the last 50 years.
With 1.2 billion population, China need to change gradually, whether it is currency or human rights,give China’s leadership some space.
China will be a better friend to America than the jihadist Islam who has declared war on the West.
Let’s get our perspective right.
The State visit with all the bells and whistles are completely irrelevant! Lets see if we can touch on a bit of reality on a few points.
1. The “intimate” relationship between China and the U.S. actually began in 1776 and formal trade began in 1784. The long and short is that we continue to endure in our relationship over a very long time and through many events, changing of circumstance and time.
2. In spite of nearly a billion people population, China remains sorely underdeveloped as a general society and must rely upon global markets for any substantial economic existence for many, many decades to come…most likely forever….a global market that is not going to allow themselves to be nudged or pushed by China anytime in the future regardless, of China’s perceived industrial, economic or military advances.
3. The U.S. is essentially the ONLY historic “intimate” developed and Western ally China has maintained and continues to maintain in modern times. Therefore, when it comes to push or shove, China is simply not with much global leverage on any front. The developed world can at anytime, simply close the door on China’s industrial market advances…not to mention that the combined strength of the Western world military capability can at anytime squash any of China’s military posturing regardless of how advanced it may become.
4. China holds only about one third of the U.S. debt. This can be analyzed with more strategic positives than negatives. For example. So long as the USD is the world currency, their holding our debt dilutes their economic strength by about $4 trillion dollars though the trade imbalance is a critical issue to this point.
5. By choice, China has historically stayed off of the global playing field, thus, many declared them as a sleeping elephant awaiting to awaken and become a global threat. I view this point as a strategic mistake on the part of China (fortunate for most of the world) for many of the reasons I’ve stated above. You simply cannot be a historic isolated nation and wake up one day and dominate or take over the world! Likewise with a population of nearly a billion mostly in poverty and socialized, you cannot wake up one day and declare yourself a Westernized economic society and nation.
Bottom line? China can never be anymore of an economic and military threat than what the developed Western nations allow them to be. Now, at this point one can begin to discuss the mistakes the U.S. and the rest of the Western developed nations have made especially, since the 90′s with their economic relationships extended to China and why.
For the U.S., labor unions and extreme federal government policies of anti industry and business, drove our nations traditional economic base to foreign nations compatible to more competitive positions and many other positive factors….that being China primarily, along with Mexico and India. So the next time you’re discussing the China situation and why the U.S. no longer has its traditional economic bases, be sure to give thanks to your labor unions and all the federal anti industrial and business policies enacted.
Maybe there should be more people involved in the civil service to understand when a visiting head of State or nation arrives, it is customary to treat them as a visiting leader of that Nation.
Maybe the US should strengthen its own currency, instead of asking another nation to weaken theirs?
Maybe the US Fed could disclose who received 2 trillion in Cash wired to Europe in 2007 and 2008, and ask for it to be repaid?
Maybe people could stop whining how another Nation is managed, and demand better management of our own?
First, we need to end the MFN status for the Chicoms. They certainly don’t deserve it. Next, threaten to put a huge import tax on all of their exports to the States if they don’t change their ways. Finally, if they start making noises about owning all of our debt, just tell ‘em we will default on it. That should take ‘em down a notch or two…
We’re at that point again. Partied till the $$ ran out, now we need a good enemy to give us a half decent fight to get us out of it.
Iraq was embarassingly easy. To make up for that, we’ve been spoonfeeding China all kinds of weapons tech. We’ve allowed them to preposition in various strategic locations like the Panama Canal. Nearly allowed them into Long Beach. Let them corner various supplies of strategic materials all over the world, with no competition from us. We’ve provided $$ support to any tin-pot that might hate us. We’ve even stopped developement on weapons systems that might have given us an unfair advantage.
There’re still going to suck. Their ace fighter pilots can’t even avoid slow P-3s. They launch an SLBM right off of LA, and it heads out to sea. Sigh.
Why did Russia have to give up so easily?
Does Hu know Obama is an “Affirmative Action” President? He is the grandest in all the land. Outranks god!
And I am sure during the visit Obamamao Se Tung will bow to this evil thug.
And will fly the Soviet Red Chinese Flag over the White House.
High Crimes and Treason, yes. Time for O to be unseated. This evil dictator thug from China better realize anything this fraud Obama does will be null and void once the final gavel is down on his ineligible to be Pres. status surfaces, and it is coming, inspite of this frauds desperate, expensive attempts to seal his records.
well, thanks to republican mismanagement of our nation’s finances during the bush era, we are as dependent on the chinese government to buy our treasury bonds as a heroin addict is dependent on his dealer. if you don’t believe this, read some real conservatives who have written on this issue at length (Bruce Bartlett, Pat Buchanan, Paul Craig Roberts).
china is an ascendent country determined not to make the same mistakes as the fading power on the other side of the Pacific. They have a political system designed to promote leaders who serve the national interest; a mercantilist trade policy designed to promote self-reliance and real GDP growth; and social, cultural and educational policies and institutions that serve to promote homogeneity and social cohesion, and instill the values of upward mobility, personal responsibility, and the drive to become more productive. You can’t choose where you are born, but if it were possible, my first choice in 2011 would be China or Singapore, maybe Japan. Followed probably by Germany. Way down the list would be the beligerant, decadent behemouth of the Western Hemisphere, the greatest country on earth until it was wrecked, dismantled and sold for parts by insiders and money lenders, progressives, liberals, neocons, religious nuts, and other fools and traitors.
You are welcome, or better yet, encouraged to leave.
So much you speak to! So much you are simply wrong about!
Just as Clinton had NO such thing as a national economic reserve…..or even a budget reserve, Bush had little significant impact on the economy during his administrations.
ALL of the “problems” you elude to stem from an ignorance and disconnect by the American people and thus the governments they installed over many decades, that in concert, accumulated all the current problems. You seemingly never learned…or have forgotten, that our constitution gives to the PEOPLE the control of our nations destiny.
So, you like the laogai?
I disagree, vehemently. As a former boss once told me, “you can’t overcommunicate.”
We need to make our position on the issues clear to China. This is an opportunity to do so. We need to listen to their concerns. We also need to remind the Chinese that we are in this together.
Suppose they could flip a switch and make the US disappear. They have 3 trillion little green pieces of paper, and a whole bunch of people in a whole bunch of factories with nobody to sell anything to. That’s a problem for them.
Suppose the opposite. You go to WalMart with your paper, and there is nothing on the shelves. That’s our problem.
This article is a prime example of why articles should not be broken into two pages. Only 3 small paragraphs are on the 2nd page. Am I the only reader who does not appreciate having to remember to click on “view as single page?” Why is two pages so vital?
The two page article in PM has become one of my pet peeves. Good to know I’m not alone.
The US is now begging the indulgence of tyrants to coninue funding (vote-buying)debt,outsource jobs(to make Obama’s crony capitalists richer);and no doubt to share ideas and suggestions for suppressing dissent.What an obscene spectacle!
I don’t remember another president catering to a former and possibly current enemy of the United States in such a brazen manner
We may owe money to the Chinese, but they owe us too. The economy of China has grown mostly due to stolen R&D and proprietary technology from American companies. Add to this the huge damage they’ve done to us with their shameless piracy of our products. These things have a monetary value. Since the Chinese economy and all their corporations are government run and owned it means their government is directly responsible. The evidence is extensive and undeniable. We have a right to demand compensation.
Where’s Bill Clinton on this? He’s the jerkoff that declared China our ‘Strategic Ally’ and opened up the store so they could buy our top technology, steal everything at Livermore, improve their rocket science (via some overly generous help from a US company’s adevice on their rocket bugs, which broke US law, but, why hold THAT against them eh?), etc.
@joeybiten
“Kind of like cowering before the “bully” on the playground.
Guess what, the “bully” will beat you up until you stand up to him.”
——-
you sound like someone with a lot of experience ‘beating’ us up in the playground, flushing our heads in the loo. well, things have changed drastically now that China is powerful.
“bullies” like you DO NOT LORD OVER this planet anymore! we’re standing up.
have a nice day! (said in a melodious tone)
*** ‘Showing His Tail’ ***
Gordon Chang, often times shows his contempt for the Chinese masses and their leaders, either privately or publicly. But this one title really goes beyond the pale. By saying ‘showing his tail’, does he mean to imply that the President of China, a man loved and lionized by so many peasants in China’, is the devil? What an evil person to write shit like this.
A title like this should be reserved for the greedy ‘Masters of the Universe’ of Wall Street who destroyed the entire global financial system. In doing so, threw one billion people in developing nations back into poverty and caused hundreds of millions of deaths due to starvation and malnutrition because of food inflation and the spike in oil prices.
President Hu Jintao and his other 8 members of the top politburo, everyone of whom are engineers unlike this joker/writer Gordon Chang, worked assiduously to improve the lives of millions of Chinese people, particularly the peasants. Ken Rogoff, a former economist at rthe IMF, said China is doing everything right to weather the financial downturn and will provide the rare & much needed growth engine for the world in the years to come. Nobel Economics Prize laureate Joseph Stieglitz had high praise for China’s leadership performance.
The fact that this buffoon of an author who is so inept in his predictions still gets such a wide audience in America, tells us how racism is still alive in the US.
Gordon Chang is a laughing stock of the Chinese community! Not only is he a bad forecaster, he can’t even tell one Chinese face from another.
Gordon Chang’s latest insolent act, in all its stupidity, really tops it. He pasted the wrong picture of Chinese President Hu Jintao. The picture of that chubby man next to the Chinese President’s name is Vice President Xi Jinping, the next president of China. Ah! hahaha! If I were a cynic I’d think he wants us to start hating the face of the next top guy in China even before he gets into his job..
And the author wants us to believe he’s been in China for 20 years. And that he’s an expert on anything China, therefore he ‘definitively’ knows that China’s day of reckoning is near. Yeah. sure! When PIGS can fly!! (should it be spelled PIIGS)
Whooo hooooo! Hit me with a sledgehammer, someone!
The author had been predicting the demise of China for the last 10 years. I guess he picked the wrong country — he should have called it “The Coming Collapse of the US”. It would be more fitting given the $1.5 trillion annual deficit on top of the cumulative $14 trillion US soverign debt, structural unemployment, the ruling elite class raping the national and global economies, dysfunctional Congress and an overstretched military bogged down in this quagmire of perpetual war for perpetual peace (elusive). Most importantly American society is more divided now than ever, by race, by class and by multiple antagonistic & conflicting interest groups, which is expected to implode soon. The riotings haven’t started yet, but we’re merely at the first inning of this endless cycle of recurrent recessions. The QEs wouldnot save us.
The only reason why this Chinese mutt (his mom is white) is accepted in the white media, aside from his heritage, is his willingness to pander to the innate racism in America. Schadenfreude anyone? Target the Chinese, magnify their shortcomings, marginalize their sufferings and gloss over their achievements. Or worse, doubt the veracity of their achievements.
Americans love to hate the Chinese! And they love to spit hate incessantly!
That is why for all his idiocy and failed predictions, Gordon ‘the fool’ Chang still gets his own talk show on ABC radio (same as Rush Limbaugh), his books still sell well and he is invited very often to speak in campuses, despite the presence of many better qualified and more in the know native Chinese China experts. I guess skin color trumps everything else still.
To Mr Perpetual Whine,
Don’t forget the 1 million homes foreclosed in 2010 (1.2 million foreclosures are expected in 2011). This is tearing up the sound fabric of American society as more and more it is being split into a barbell like divided, with a tiny mi nority super rich while everybody else are hitting the soup kitchen.