The most crucial thing on Hillary's agenda for May 2, 2012 was not
reflected on her public schedule as released by the State Department.
Nor was her first stop at the Wanhousi Temple.
A
self-taught lawyer, activist, and hero of the people had, with her
approval and instructions, been provided refuge at our Embassy Beijing,
and blind and injured, stood to disrupt all negotiations at that year's
U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue.
Having made his way to
the embassy despite his disability and the physical injuries incurred
on his journey to Beijing, Chen Guangcheng had captured media attention
and a great deal of American sympathy and Chinese faith. While Hillary
believed and acted strongly from her heart that we needed to move on his
behalf, his figure, in a few venues - our embassy and a Chinese
hospital - threatened to hang between two great nations that were still
performing a middle school fox trot.
In this chapter, Hillary
recounts how she first hears of Chen's plight prior to leaving for the
very important U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue, and made an
executive decision to accept him at the embassy (and rescue him in order
to do so).
There were a several bumps in that road. Hillary managed to pave them.
Hillary
ends this chapter with some comments that, on first reading, appear
meant to explain China and its way of thinking to the American reader.
When I read it again, I thought it just as likely that she also embedded
a message there for the Chinese by expressing that rather than wishing
to contain China (the Chinese fear) the U.S. seeks cooperation with
China for the common good.
As we know, Hard Choices has been effectively banned in China, but we hope that embedded message manages to get through the Great Firewall.
Hillary introduces this chapter with a good deal of background from
her previous visits to China and the influence they had on her first
visit there as secretary of state. She speaks of reunions with old
friends that were not public and therefore not covered by press or the
State Department.
It is clear that this maiden voyage in her new
capacity was freighted, and she explains both her priorities and the
degree to which some (political, environmental, and commercial issues) were given
publicity and others (human rights issues) were not but emphasizes that
human rights did not take a back seat.
She
mentions discussing religious freedom and the related issues of Tibet
and Taiwan in meetings with high officials but does not remind us that
she took the trouble to attend church services. We at the now-defunct
Hillary's Village Forum knew and shared that information, but I never
blogged it here.
She
also participated in an online chat and a TV interview on this visit,
although she does not specifically mention them. Part of her outreach
to civil society to be sure.
It
was during this meeting that she became aware of the upcoming Shanghai
Expo about which it appeared no one in the U.S. was doing anything. So
Hillary shouldered the responsibility to get a U.S. pavilion up and
running in time for the opening in May 2010.
The
most important item on her agenda with China was formulating a way to
navigate through the 'uncharted waters' of the U.S.-China relationship.
She and other cabinet officials, specifically Timothy Geithner being a
high-profile proponent, were determined to initiate a U.S.-China
Strategic and Economic Dialogue realized in May 2010.
Among
all of the issues involving Asia, the most enormous elephant in the
room swinging its massive trunk on the sidelines of every official
meeting was the issue of 'dominion,' if it can be called that, over the
waters of the South and East China Seas. These waters are vital to
shipping routes, but also flow over precious mineral resources such as
semi-conductors that are indispensable in the hardware that organizes
our online lives now from communications through paperless bill-paying.
The Chinese made it clear that their claims to these waters were
non-negotiable. Hillary thought that if enough of China's smaller
neighbors were to coalesce around the issue of access the giant might
blink.
She cites the July 2010 ASEAN Ministerial Meetings in Hanoi
as the tipping point at which a coalition of south Asian countries
became strong enough to press giant China on these seafaring issues.*
Her instincts and predictions on this were spot-on.
*I still contend that if the Senate, at any point, had ratified the Law
of the Sea Treaty (LOST - see the sidebar on the right) her job from
here through her last Asia trip in 2012 would not have been so
demanding. The island-hopping and bilaterals and trilaterals that took
place in summer of 2012 might not have been so intense and crucial. You
might remember her being given access that was not easy to come by to watch WJC address the Democratic National Convention in Septembr of that year. All of that traveling among those islands was over maritime rights in the
South and East China Seas. A LOST ratification might have obviated much
of that shuttle diplomacy. But that's just me. Just sayin'.
Thank
you very much. It is an honor for me to be here. And Vice Chairman,
thank you as always for your leadership and support of the efforts that
we are launching today.
I just came from an exhibit of cookstoves that are manufactured and
used here in China. And that illustrates how we can work together to
meet the challenges we face – sometimes in very big ways like working on
agreements, but sometimes in smaller, equally significant ways like
working through the Global Alliance on Cookstoves that China has just
joined.
It also means working not only at our national government level but
also with state and local governments, the private sector, and civil
society. Last January, together we created the U.S.-China Sub-National
Initiative. It has already sparked dozens of joint efforts between
states in China and the United States on issues ranging from trade and
investment to job creation. Some of our most successful partnerships are
working to answer a question that is very important to both of our
countries, and it is this: How can we meet our shared need for
affordable energy while also preserving our environment?
We already have 13 EcoPartnerships, and today we are launching five
more. One will connect experts on two of our nation’s most precious
resources, the Yangtze and Mississippi Rivers. They will exchange ideas
about restoring ecosystems. Two other partnerships will pair researchers
working to develop electric cars. Two more will help development
environmentally friendly cities and create exchange programs for local
officials who work on environmental issues.
So if you combine the good news that Councilor Dai gave me that China
is joining the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves with the
EcoPartnerships, I think once again our cooperation is really paying
dividends for the people of both our countries and the world. This
illustrates once again that the United States and China can and will
work together in new ways and through many channels to address our
common challenges on energy and the environment, two issues that
transcend politics that we live with every single day in our homes, our
businesses, and our communities.
So congratulations to all the members of our new partnerships, and
thank you for doing work that will benefit the generations to come and
strengthen the relationship between the American and Chinese people.
Now I’m told we’re going to take a picture, which is even the best part. (Applause.)
Remarks at U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue Opening Session
Remarks
Hillary Rodham Clinton Secretary of State
Diaoyutai Villa 17
Beijing, China
May 3, 2012
(In
progress) – Strategic and Economic Dialogue, and I know that both
Secretary Geithner and I greatly appreciate all the work done by both of
our delegations and the months of preparation for this meeting. I’ve
read readings from President Obama and a letter from him expressing how
important the Strategic and Economic Dialogue is to the U.S.-China
relationship and how important this relationship is to the United
States.
As President Obama says, the United States remains committed to
building a cooperative partnership based on mutual benefit and mutual
respect. Since we launched this dialogue three years ago, high-ranking
officials from both our governments have criss-crossed the Pacific
dozens of times. Our relationship has grown closer and more
consequential, and the web of connections that link our nations is
increasing.
As a result, this dialogue is even more necessary today than it was
when it began, and the eyes of the world are once again upon us. The
Chinese people and the American people looking for us to work together
for their benefit, and the international community looking to us to work
together for the world’s benefit; in today’s world, no global player
can afford to treat geopolitics as a zero-sum game, so we are working to
build a relationship that allows both of our countries to flourish
without unhealthy competition or conflict, while at the same time
meeting our responsibilities to our people and to the international
community.
We both know that we have to get this right because so much depends
upon it. We also both know that our countries have become thoroughly,
inescapably interdependent. As President Obama and I have said many
times, the United States believes that a thriving China is good for
America, and a thriving America is good for China. So we have a strong
interest in China’s continued economic growth and if China’s rising
capabilities means that we have an increasingly able and engaged partner
in solving the threats we face to both regional and global security,
that is all good.
Now, having said that, we understand too that building a cooperative,
resilient, mutually beneficial relationship is not easy. That’s why
this dialogue is so critical as well as the Strategic Security Dialogue
that took place here yesterday. We are discussing how the talks are
opening economic activity to advance prosperity, support innovation, and
improve the lives of people, how to promote greater military
transparency to avoid misunderstandings, to build trust and maintain
mutual stability, how to tackle some of the world’s most urgent crises
from climate change to proliferation.
The United States welcomes China’s increased engagement on the
highest priority regional and global issues, and in our strategic track,
we will be discussing these. For example, on Iran, the United States
and China share the goal of preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear
weapon. And we had a productive first meeting as members of the P-5+1 in
Istanbul, and are looking forward to the next meeting in Baghdad
because we both understand it is critical to keep pressure on Iran to
meet its international obligations, to negotiate seriously, and prove
that its nuclear program is solely for peaceful purposes.
In Syria, we are absolutely committed to end the brutal violence
against civilians, and therefore, it is essential that the international
community work together to hold the regime and the others involved in
violence accountable, because regrettably, the Security Council on which
we both serve as current members is at stake.
Regarding North Korea, the missile launch seems to suggest that
Pyongyang actually used improved relations with the outside world not a
goal, but as a threat. And we recognize the role that China is playing
and are continuing to work together to make it clear to North Korea that
strength and security will come from prioritizing the needs of its
people, not from further provocation.
In Sudan and South Sudan, China and the United States are working
together. In fact, with me today is the U.S. special envoy to Sudan who
is in regular contact with the Chinese special representative for
Africa. And I’m pleased that China and the United States joined with a
unified international community just hours ago to support a strong UN
security resolution that provides unambiguous support for the African
Union roadmap.
Our countries are addressing everything from cyber security to the
changes and reforms going on in Burma to piracy and so much else,
because we know that we are working to better the lives of our people
and a better future for all humanity. Now of course, as part of our
dialogue, the United States raises the importance of human rights and
fundamental freedoms because we believe that all governments do have to
answer to citizens’ aspirations for dignity and the rule of law, and
that no nation can or should deny those rights.
As President Obama said this week, a China that protects the rights
of all its citizens will be a stronger and more prosperous nation, and
of course, a stronger partner on behalf of our common goals. The
conversations we have here in Beijing reflect how much the U.S.-China
relationship has grown in the 40 years since President Nixon came to
China. Then, we had hardly any ties to speak of; now, we work together. I
think it’s fair to say China and the United States cannot solve all the
problems of the world, but without our cooperation, it is doubtful any
problem can be solved. And so we are working as we go forward with our
dialogue, seeking opportunities for engagement, building ties that are
not only between governments but family, friends, entrepreneurs,
students, scholars, artists, and so much else.
Tomorrow, I will attend the annual meeting of U.S.-China Consultation
on People-to-People Exchanges, and we will discuss the progress we’re
making, including for our 100000 Strong Education Initiative that will
increase significantly the numbers and diversity of American students
studying in China.
So I wish to thank our hosts for their gracious hospitality once
again, and pledge that we will continue to work together in a true
spirit of partnership and mutual respect for the mutual benefit of our
two nations. Thank you very much. (Applause.)
