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OBAMA'S COLLISION COURSE WITH CHINA

Benjamin A Shobert

Asia Times, December 2, 2008

In the past several weeks, two Congressional Commissions - the Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC) and the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC) - have submitted reports on China that are likely to serve as indicators of what we may expect from an Barack Obama administration. Given the state of the American economy, Obama's direct comments about China have been limited, and usually presented as secondary, to other domestic priorities.

One of the president-elect's greatest strengths is an ability to be diffuse until he needs to take a public position, which allows others to project onto him their own agendas and thoughts; this is perhaps nowhere more visible than in his policy positions towards US-China relations.

Given the limited nature of his direct comments concerning China, Obama's October position paper to the American Chamber of Commerce serves as an important insight into the issues that will guide his administration's engagement with Beijing. The October policy statement had four themes in common with both Congressional Commissions' reports: China's role in negotiating with North Korea, the need for China to change its currency practices, concern over China's foreign-bound investment in key sectors, and product safety issues. In Washington, when areas of concern overlap between the executive and legislative areas, we can expect that such commonalities provide insight into what policy changes to expect from an Obama administration.

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