What keeps Hu busy?
I'm puzzled by something I've seen repeatedly in the coverage leading up to Hu Jintao's visit: the idea that Hu is so consumed with domestic problems that China is somehow constrained or humble in foreign policy matters. In Derek Mitchell's oped today: "It is China's growing domestic challenges rather than any international or domestic successes ...
I'm puzzled by something I've seen repeatedly in the coverage leading up to Hu Jintao's visit: the idea that Hu is so consumed with domestic problems that China is somehow constrained or humble in foreign policy matters.
I'm puzzled by something I've seen repeatedly in the coverage leading up to Hu Jintao's visit: the idea that Hu is so consumed with domestic problems that China is somehow constrained or humble in foreign policy matters.
In Derek Mitchell's oped today: "It is China's growing domestic challenges rather than any international or domestic successes that keep Beijing's leaders up at night, however."
This in yesterday's NYT:
With an aura of candor described as unusual for Chinese leaders, President Hu Jintao told President Bush that fighting political corruption, rural unrest, a widening wealth gap and severe pollution consumes nearly all his time. He said domestic problems left China with neither the will nor the means to challenge America's dominance in world affairs, according to two Bush administration officials who were told about the session.
This was in Sunday's WaPo:
Whatever grand global visions Chinese president Hu Jintao might trade with President Bush in his visit to Washington this week, one thing is certain: When Hu wakes up every morning, foreign policy is far from his mind. Are farmers satisfied with the recent government decision on agricultural taxes? Would a revaluation of the yuan push millions of low-wage textile workers into the streets? And why is former president Jiang Zemin still active in politics behind the scenes? Such concerns dominate Hu's daily activities.
Most world leaders are primarily concerned with domestic politics — keeping their government on good footing at home. That's their bread and butter. But that's why they have advisors and foreign ministries.
Manmohan Singh wakes up thinking about keeping his coalition together. That didn't stop his advisors from working on a nuclear deal with the United States. Bush spent much of his first term focused on winning key swing states in 2004. For better or worse, that didn't stop him from launching two major military operations and a slew of other initiatives. I believe Hu wakes up thinking about domestic problems — but I don't think that makes China's foreign policy less active or ambitious.
In fact, it could easily be argued that China's domestic challenges in large part fuel its foreign policy. The Chinese economy needs raw materials and energy to grow economically, and thereby keep China stable politically. That has a lot to do with key elements of its foreign policy, such as befriending Iran and backing Sudan.
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