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STORY: Chinese-U.S. economic ties are uncomfortable but unbreakable, CNBC, 11/15/09
The global financial crisis makes clear to the average person now what plenty of us have been arguing for a very long time:
"We are in a fairly advanced stage of economic mutual interdependence," said Kenneth Lieberthal, a China specialist with the Brookings Institution in Washington. "I think the Chinese can pull the rug out from under our economy only if they want to pull the rug out from under themselves."
The problem remains, however, that China, while portraying itself increasingly as a great power, has zero desire to actually act like one, whether we're talking economics or security, so the free-riding continues.
Obama's task is a very difficult one: getting China to step up. Bush essentially punted on this because he preferred the primacy route. Well, having given that approach everything we could for seven years, we're now getting accustomed to realizing that China's counterparty capacity as the rising superpower of the age is nowhere near where we'd like it to be.
But again, no question I prefer Obama's cool to McCain's angry flash at this point in history--no question at all.
(Thanks: John.S.Weitzer)
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