Susan Shirk Comments on Obama's Future Plans in China
Obama to borrow China's wealth, clout in effort to steady world
12/12/2008
Indira A.R. Lakshmanan,
Bloomberg.com
Dec. 9 (Bloomberg) -- Thirty years ago this month, President Jimmy Carter held secret negotiations to establish formal diplomatic ties with a poor, insular communist China. President-elect Barack Obama will inherit a relationship with a China whose wealth and influence are essential to rescuing the world economy.
Resolving almost any international problem now -- from reducing North Korea’s potential nuclear threat to slowing global warming -- requires Beijing’s cooperation. The financial crisis also underscores China’s importance: Its $1.9 trillion in foreign reserves will be indispensable in helping to avert a global economic meltdown.
While this means China will likely get immediate attention from Obama, the new president probably won’t reorient U.S. policy toward the world’s fourth-largest economy.
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