The Chinese Communist Party newspaper, Renmin Ribao (People's Daily), features a special section on Obama's visit (Nov. 15, 2009).
Obama Goes to China: Issues and Positions
USCI resources illuminate Senator and now President Obama's views, the key issues to be discussed in Beijing, and the context of this visit.
Release Date: 11/06/2009
President Barack Obama is traveling to China as part of a swing through Asia that will include participation in the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Singapore and stops in Japan and South Korea. Key issues to be addressed in China were highlighted in Talking Points (Nov. 4-18, 2009 issue).
The Itinerary
Nov. 11-12 Tokyo
Nov. 13-15 Singapore, APEC meeting
Nov. 15-18 Beijing and Shanghai
Nov. 18-19 Seoul
Obama speaks to students in Shanghai
Obama addressed a select group of students in Shanghai on Nov. 15. Please click "play" below to see the meeting.
Among his comments:
There is a Chinese proverb: "Consider the past, and you shall know the future." Surely, we have known setbacks and challenges over the last 30 years. Our relationship has not been without disagreement and difficulty. But the notion that we must be adversaries is not predestined -- not when we consider the past. Indeed, because of our cooperation, both the United States and China are more prosperous and more secure. We have seen what is possible when we build upon our mutual interests, and engage on the basis of mutual respect.
And yet the success of that engagement depends upon understanding -- on sustaining an open dialogue, and learning about one another and from one another. For just as that American table tennis player pointed out -- we share much in common as human beings, but our countries are different in certain ways.
I believe that each country must chart its own course. China is an ancient nation, with a deeply rooted culture. The United States, by comparison, is a young nation, whose culture is determined by the many different immigrants who have come to our shores, and by the founding documents that guide our democracy.
Those documents put forward a simple vision of human affairs, and they enshrine several core principles -- that all men and women are created equal, and possess certain fundamental rights; that government should reflect the will of the people and respond to their wishes; that commerce should be open, information freely accessible; and that laws, and not simply men, should guarantee the administration of justice.
Of course, the story of our nation is not without its difficult chapters. In many ways -- over many years -- we have struggled to advance the promise of these principles to all of our people, and to forge a more perfect union. We fought a very painful civil war, and freed a portion of our population from slavery. It took time for women to be extended the right to vote, workers to win the right to organize, and for immigrants from different corners of the globe to be fully embraced. Even after they were freed, African Americans persevered through conditions that were separate and not equal, before winning full and equal rights.
None of this was easy. But we made progress because of our belief in those core principles, which have served as our compass through the darkest of storms. That is why Lincoln could stand up in the midst of civil war and declare it a struggle to see whether any nation, conceived in liberty, and "dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal" could long endure. That is why Dr. Martin Luther King could stand on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and ask that our nation live out the true meaning of its creed. That's why immigrants from China to Kenya could find a home on our shores; why opportunity is available to all who would work for it; and why someone like me, who less than 50 years ago would have had trouble voting in some parts of America, is now able to serve as its President.
And that is why America will always speak out for these core principles around the world. We do not seek to impose any system of government on any other nation, but we also don't believe that the principles that we stand for are unique to our nation. These freedoms of expression and worship -- of access to information and political participation -- we believe are universal rights. They should be available to all people, including ethnic and religious minorities -- whether they are in the United States, China, or any nation. Indeed, it is that respect for universal rights that guides America's openness to other countries; our respect for different cultures; our commitment to international law; and our faith in the future.
Click here for the full speech.
Obama on American engagement in Asia
On Nov. 14, President Obama spoke in Japan, affirming that the US remains committed to being fully engaged in the region.
His speech included these passages:But while our commitment to this region begins in Japan, it doesn't end here. The United States of America may have started as a series of ports and cities along the Atlantic Ocean, but for generations we have also been a nation of the Pacific. Asia and the United States are not separated by this great ocean; we are bound by it. We are bound by our past -- by the Asian immigrants who helped build America, and the generations of Americans in uniform who served and sacrificed to keep this region secure and free. We are bound by our shared prosperity -- by the trade and commerce upon which millions of jobs and families depend. And we are bound by our people -- by the Asian Americans who enrich every segment of American life, and all the people whose lives, like our countries, are interwoven.
My own life is a part of that story. I am an American President who was born in Hawaii and lived in Indonesia as a boy. My sister Maya was born in Jakarta, and later married a Chinese-Canadian. My mother spent nearly a decade working in the villages of Southeast Asia, helping women buy a sewing machine or an education that might give them a foothold in the world economy. So the Pacific Rim has helped shape my view of the world.
And since that time, perhaps no region has changed as swiftly or dramatically. Controlled economies have given way to open markets. Dictatorships have become democracies. Living standards have risen while poverty has plummeted. And through all these changes, the fortunes of America and the Asia Pacific have become more closely linked than ever before.
So I want everyone to know, and I want everybody in America to know, that we have a stake in the future of this region, because what happens here has a direct effect on our lives at home. This is where we engage in much of our commerce and buy many of our goods. And this is where we can export more of our own products and create jobs back home in the process. This is a place where the risk of a nuclear arms race threatens the security of the wider world, and where extremists who defile a great religion plan attacks on both our continents. And there can be no solution to our energy security and our climate challenge without the rising powers and developing nations of the Asia Pacific....
Now, as with any nation, America will approach China with a focus on our interests. And it's precisely for this reason that it is important to pursue pragmatic cooperation with China on issues of mutual concern, because no one nation can meet the challenges of the 21st century alone, and the United States and China will both be better off when we are able to meet them together. That's why we welcome China's effort to play a greater role on the world stage -- a role in which their growing economy is joined by growing responsibility. China's partnership has proved critical in our effort to jumpstart economic recovery. China has promoted security and stability in Afghanistan and Pakistan. And it is now committed to the global nonproliferation regime, and supporting the pursuit of denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.
So the United States does not seek to contain China, nor does a deeper relationship with China mean a weakening of our bilateral alliances. On the contrary, the rise of a strong, prosperous China can be a source of strength for the community of nations.
Click here for the full speech.
Resources
The USC US-China Institute website and our US-China Today web magazine offer a variety of useful resources relating to US-China issues to be addressed during the visit.
Obama on China
On the election trail, then Senator Obama asserted a middle of the road position on China, but called for efforts to assure that trade was both free and fair. Excerpts from speeches and interviews with aides and advocates are included in the “Obama on China” segment of our Challenge of China documentary. Click here to see this segment.
Other segments focus on trade and cooperation on arms control and climate change. These are available here, along with links to related resources. The videos are also available at the Institute’s YouTube channel.
Obama and Others -- Strategic and Economic Dialogue
Click here for video of the president's opening speech, plus quotations and documents from the July 2009 meeting.
Christensen on “Shaping China’s Choices”
From 2006 to 2008, Princeton’s Tom Christensen oversaw China policy at the State Department. Just prior to the election, he offered advice at USC on what should be done to improve US-China ties. Click here to see his presentation.
Economy on "The Global Impact of China's Environmental Crisis
Elizabeth Economy, Director of Asian Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, is author of The River Runs Black: The Environmental Challenge to China's Future. She spoke at USC in 2007 and 2009 on environmental conditions in China, measures being taken by the Chinese government, and the global implications of the degradation of China's environment. Click here for her 2007 presentation and here for her 2009 presentation.
Making American Policy toward China
Christensen’s comments opened a day-long examination of strategic, economic, and environmental issues, precisely what’s on the agenda for the Beijing meetings. Video and links to the papers presented is available at the conference website.
US and Chinese Government Reports
The documents section of the Institute website offers reports, speeches, and treaties relating to US-China ties, contemporary China, and US-Taiwan ties. For example, in October the US Economic and Security Review Commission released a report on China’s cyber warfare capability, in September Deputy Sec. of State James Steinberg offered the administration’s vision of US-China relations, and in March the Defense Department released its assessment of China’s overall military capabilities. Over the past year, the head of China’s central bank called for reform of the international monetary system and China’s State Council released a report on human rights in the United States.
Graphs (included in Talking Points, the Institute's weekly newsletter)
US-China Opinion Surveys
Top Trading Nations
US-China Trade, Chinese Ownership of US Treasury Notes
Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Energy Consumption
Oil Consumption
Other reports on opinion surveys:
Soft Power
Hope and Fear
Gallup
Hu Jintao and Barack Obama previously met on April 1, 2009 in London at the G-20 Summit.
