This Month's Topic: How should the United States relate to China?
China has the fastest growing economy in the world. Its producer and consumer demands are driving prices of fuel upward, and its trade role in the world is significant and growing. It is a world leader as a polluter; it has almost no quality checks on produce leaving the country; its treatment of its people both as citizens and workers is disgraceful. Its foreign policy seems to us amoral. Provide machetes to murderers in Rwanda? Sure! Support the genocide in the Sudan because of oil agreements? No problem! So, how do we deal with these guys? Would the United States be hypocritical to take action against China — can we really claim the moral high ground? And what happens to the world economy if we take action? Would the rest of the world stand with us or against us?
Conservative Response:
The issue of how to deal with China is a difficult one for conservatives.
At a time when the Communist Bloc stood in stark contrast to the free world, conservatives had a core issue upon which to base their foreign policy. Containing, then defeating communism was THE issue. Not only was there a very real threat to our nation, but the threat was an ideological one as well. Dictatorship and centralized economy: this was the ideological enemy.
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But what to do with China? Still a very real dictatorship, it has nevertheless opened its markets and its economy. Deng Xiaoping once said, after all, "To become rich is glorious." China’s emerging economy holds immense promise as a producer, a supplier, and a marketplace for America’s businesses. It is our belief that economic liberalization will lead to demands for democracy. China currently persecutes people for religious and political beliefs, but this is a nation which has never had freedom and democracy. It will not show up right away. The recent earthquake, as tragic as it was, showed a different Chinese government — one that used Western-style PR to show that it was serving the people. That is a good sign.
Still, there is one big problem: China’s increased military build-up. Determined to make itself a power, China is buying a more powerful military; it is spying and stealing secrets; and it is doing more and more chest-thumping. On China’s borders are traditional rivals, Vietnam and Russia. Also on its border is the economic rival, India. With all three nations, China has existing border disputes.
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To what extent is China intent on making Asia its playground? How dangerous and destabilizing will this be? This is what conservatives are worried about.
— Editor
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