International ties

How China will break US ring-fence

By Huang Shuo (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2010-10-01 11:18
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In 2010, international relations have been changing subtly due to US's "going back to Asia" policy. US government, conservative think tanks and the Pentagon are increasingly focusing on a new "threat" from China, a rising world power.

China, a vital role in the international community at present, has become the second largest economy with double-digit growth over the past 30 years. The nation, with about 5,000 years' history, has its own unique approach to development conforming to its national conditions, different from the US, and independent diplomatic policies and strategies in a bid to improve peace and establish a reasonable world order apart from conventional US-dominated rules.

The Obama administration, without achieving the planned targets for China on human rights, climate change and other global development issues, resorts to a hostile attitude toward the "Dragon" in the East, a shift from the friendly tone during the early days of Obama's presidency in 2009.

Asia now is a new "battlefield" for the US as they try to restrain China effectively. America is trying to ring-fence development in China, coordinating with China's neighboring nations such as Vietnam and Japan, which all have territorial disputes with China.

In this context, who will stand by China? The answer is without a doubt Russia. The former Big Brother of China during the Cold War is seeking a new strategic partnership with China to balance the triangle system of Super Powers: the US, China and Russia. In late September, Russian President Dmitri Medvedev's visit to China and meeting with Chinese President Hu Jintao boosted a pragmatic relationship between the two, especially on energy. Both have broad national interests in common, for example, the issues of terrorism, regional security and the North Korean and Iranian nuclear programs. Leaders in Beijing and Moscow have seen the opportunity for collaboration. Besides, no principal issues about territory have existed between China and Russia, which cleared the way for further cooperation in all other fields.

Moreover, intensifying conventional multilateral diplomatic ties with developing countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America can be another breakthrough for China.

The clash of interests should be resolved rationally via peaceful dialogue among related parties, rather than through restraints. If observing the changing order of international community based on multi-polar momentum, American policymakers with any intelligence are bound to adjust their decisions into a friendly and positive side of foreign policies toward China.

The author is a Beijing-based freelancer in China. He can be reached at larryhuangshuo@gmail.com.