Posted on Nov 28th Sino-US ties were in focus at the recent Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit inHonolulu and the just concluded East Asia Summit (EAS) in Bali, especially because of theEuropean economic and political crises. It was not a good time for US President Barack Obamato attend the EAS, given the unstable state of the American economy, and the Congressionalsuper committee’s failure on the federal budget. The frictions between the United States and China - from the yuan’s exchange rate to theSouth China Sea disputes - are nothing new. But the problem now is that the two countriesseem unable to narrow their perception gap. Obama met with Premier Wen Jiabao twice during the EAS to say that China should allow theyuan to revalue more rapidly. At the APEC summit in Hononulu, Obama had complained toPresident Hu Jintao that the yuan was undervalued and said it ”disadvantages Americanbusiness; it disadvantages American workers. And we have said to them that this is somethingthat has to change”. The Chinese leaders responded that the yuan’s exchange rate was not responsible for the US’high trade deficit with China, instead structural problems in the American economy were toblame for that. In fact, China has been emphasizing the need for a new mechanism for globaleconomic governance to increase ”the voice of emerging markets and developing economies”. Before the summits, US officials had said countries concerned should exercise self-restraintand refrain from taking any action that could escalate or complicate the territorial disputes inthe South China Sea. The US remark was directed at China, too. But before that, Obama hadissued an indirect message to China saying: “We want you to play by the rules”. He warned that”where we see rules being broken, we’ll speak out and, in some cases, we will take action.” Chinese leaders and people, however, think that the US dragged the South China Seadisputes, an irrelevant issue, to the EAS to fulfill its own agenda. To them, the US’ intention isclear: It is using the South China Sea disputes to drive a wedge between China and some of itsSoutheast Asian neighbors, which have enjoyed ”20 years of steady friendship”. To read the whole article at the China Daily
