Opinion Sweet and Sour

The Obama Administration has moved away from its initial enthusiasm on building a comprehensive bilateral partnership — the so-called Group of Two — to the reality of addressing the growing divergence between the two sides on a range of issues.

In Beijing,there is a new assertiveness based on the awareness that China is rising on the world stage and the conviction that the United States is in relative decline. Unlike in the past,when Beijing tried hard to demonstrate progress in every round of bilateral talks,it is no longer in a mood to stand down on issues to please the United States. It is Washington that now works hard to signal progress.

The Strategic and Economic Dialogue,which has emerged as the principle vehicle for the management of bilateral relationship,is co-chaired by Chinese Vice-Premier Wang Qishan,State Councillor Dai Bingo and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner.

On the economic side,the US’s emphasis was on market access to American products,protection of intellectual property rights and high value of the yuan. Washington has been objecting to the Chinese policy of shutting out foreign firms in the purchase of computers,telecom gear and other high-end manufactured goods. Beijing had justified this in the name of promoting domestic technology innovation.

During his visit to Washington in January,President Hu Jintao had promised to break the link between innovation and procurement,and the Chinese delegation had apparently reinforced that promise. American sceptics say Beijing has the habit of selling the same bill of goods more than once. Cynics would add that most Chinese promises don’t get implemented. Even when Beijing puts new laws on books,they add,the provinces never enforce them.

For its part,Beijing has been pressing against Washington’s many regulations that prevent Chinese foreign direct investment in US companies,especially in the so-called sensitive areas. Beijing also wants a liberalisation of US controls on high-technology exports to China.

At the end of the talks,Geithner said he is “very confident that if you look over the next several years,you’re going to see Chinese investment in the United States continue to expand very,very rapidly”.

Internet freedom

As Washington and Beijing chip away at their economic tensions,human-rights issues have returned to the agenda. As China intensifies its crackdown on dissidents at home,Washington has begun to speak up a little more forcefully.

In an interview to the Atlantic,Hillary Clinton called China’s human-rights record “deplorable” and criticised Beijing for “trying to stop history,which is a fool’s errand”. While China is likely to dismiss Clinton’s comments,it will surely pay more attention to the new Internet initiative launched by the Obama Administration. On Tuesday,US State Department officials said they would give $19 million to efforts that can short-circuit Internet controls in China,Iran and other countries that block online access to politically sensitive material.

Michael Posner,the assistant secretary of state in charge of human rights,said funding would support cutting-edge technology that acts as a “slingshot” — identifying material that countries are censoring and throwing it back at them. “We’re responding with new tools. This is a cat-and-mouse game. We’re trying to stay one step ahead of the cat,” Posner added.

Asian security

If last year saw an open verbal confrontation between China and the United States at the ASEAN Regional Forum,this week’s discussions saw a deliberate effort to cool the rhetoric and establish a forum for bilateral talks on security in East Asia and the Pacific.

At the end of the talks,State Councillor Dai said,“We agreed that Asia Pacific is broad enough to accommodate the interests of China and of the United States. We must work together in this region,work together with other countries in this region to uphold peace,stability in the Asia-Pacific.”

“It would be inappropriate for China and the US to talk about cooperation at the global level without cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region,” the People’s Daily said in an approving commentary.

President Barack Obama will participate in the East Asian Summit this year after the United States was accepted as a member last year. The bet is that the new bilateral framework will help Washington and Beijing to limit their potential conflict in East Asia and the Pacific.

Amid speculation that China and Pakistan are trying to nudge America out of Afghanistan,the two sides underlined this week the importance of cooperation on Af-Pak issues. “We agreed on the importance of cooperating in Afghanistan to advance common goals of political stability and economic renewal,” Clinton said.

(The writer is a Senior Fellow at the Centre for Policy Research,Delhi)