U.S. Prepares to Broach Hard Issues With China

[Coventina]

Source: New York Times

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration plans to realign the United States’ relationship with China by putting more emphasis on climate change, energy and human rights, widening the focus beyond the economic concerns of the Bush years, according to senior administration officials.

With Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton scheduled to visit Beijing next week as part of her first foreign trip in her new job, the administration is said to believe that a broader relationship with the Chinese could create opportunities for collaboration — not only on a response to the global economic crisis, but also on the environment and on security issues like the North Korean and Iranian nuclear programs.

Yet the new focus, which is being championed by Mrs. Clinton, carries risks, experts said, because it could aggravate tensions on delicate issues like China’s repression of Tibet and its position as the world’s leading emitter of greenhouse gases.

An added hurdle for Mrs. Clinton, these experts said, is that the United States urgently needs China’s support on the economic front. Putting new issues on the table now may complicate efforts to seek Beijing’s help in areas like financial regulation and stimulus campaigns.



Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/11/washington/11diplo.html

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It's hard to dictate terms to someone who is holding all your money...

[pampango]

1. Can't dictate terms (not sure Obama or Clinton want to do that) but we can talk with

them. They own a lot of our debt, but we are their big market. We each have something the other values. (BTW, Japan owns more of our debt and we talk with them.)

[AustenLC]

2. Climate Negotiations with China necessary step

If the global community is going to take sufficient action to address the causes of global warming it will take coordination and leadership from the world's largest carbon emitters, China and the U.S. It is encouraging to see the new administration take the first steps in this direction, especially as young people that turned out in record numbers in this last election prepare to gather in DC for the largest climate conference yet at the end of this month and storm the Capitol to ensure that legislators realize that global warming is an issue that matters to the younger cohorts.

Austen
http://www.powershift09.org