This piece first appeared in Asia Times.
The recent Gallup poll
reported that worldwide approval of China’s global leadership role has surpassed
the approval rating for the US. The difference while small suggests a trend in the
world perception that the two great powers are heading in opposite directions.
China is moving up and the US down.
That the US approval rating
is down can be directly attributed to President Trump’s “America first”—and to
hell with everybody else—approach. It’s no surprise that neighboring countries
that know him best, Canada and Mexico, show the biggest drop in approval of the
US.
All the other traditional
allies of the US, namely western European countries, Australia, Japan, New
Zealand, South Korea and Latin America are the major countries/regions that
responded with more than 10% decline in approval.
In fact the global approval
rating of America, at an average of 30%, has hit an all time low, below even
the strong disapproval evaluation of the George W. Bush regime. The same poll
indicates that China has risen behind Germany as the second most admired great
power.
It’s appropriate to compare
the contrasting approaches of the US and China internationally as a way of
understanding this trend and what might presage for the future.
Trump has not expressed any
vision for America or for the world nor any policy or strategy going forward
other than to increase defense spending. He has said he will make America great
again but he hasn’t said anything specific that the public can point to, “aha
that’s how we going to get to that greatness.”
President Xi of China on the
other hand has carefully outlined his domestic and international agenda.
Domestically, he wants to leave no one behind and lift those remaining below
the poverty line out of poverty. Trump doesn’t care about those making below
minimum wage; he just wants to send them back to wherever country they came
from.
China has—at last—embarked on
pollution abatement and remediation of past environmental damages. They not
only believe in the science behind climate change but are actively taking steps
to reverse green house gas emissions.
To Trump, science is voodoo
hocus-pocus and he won’t take any steps that he thinks would hurt the economy. (One
can question whether Trump’s grasp of economics is any better than of science.)
Thus he withdrew from the Paris Accord and by default China has taken over the
leadership in combating climate change.
Internationally, Xi has
pointed to the Belt Road Initiative (BRI) as an important part of China’s
diplomatic toolkit. Virtually any country interested in working with China,
can. China has financed and helped construct highways in Central Asia, new
railroads in Africa, harbors in Africa, Asia and Europe.
A number of projects are
under feasibility study in Latin America. These programs are not handouts but
with financing provided by development banks mostly via competitive bids;
albeit China has won most of the projects.
Of course, not all the completed
projects have worked out satisfactorily. The best known debacle was Sri Lanka. The Colombo government agreed to nearly $15
billion in Chinese financing for the construction of large infrastructure
projects such as a power plant, a new airport, improvement of existing port as
well as a new port.
Unfortunately, the completed
projects did not boost the economy to the projected level such that the
government receipts could service the debt. The country development model used
to finance the Sri Lanka projects is the same as the one used by World Bank and
Asian Development Bank. In this case, the model didn’t work.
Critics from the west have
been quick to label the Sri Lanka experience as an example of China’s exercise
of “sharp” power. Since no military force is involved, a new belittling term
had to be coined to disparage China’s image.
Notwithstanding what happened
in Sri Lanka, others are undaunted by China’s supposedly sharp elbows. Soon a
ministerial meeting will take place between Community of Latin American and
Caribbean States (CELAC) representing 33 countries and China to explore broader
and deeper cooperation.
National leaders of the
member states of Lancang-Mekong Cooperation met Premier Li Keqiang just last
week to discuss not only economic cooperation but also how China can provide
increasing training and scholarships to the students of the other member
states. In addition to China other members are Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand
and Vietnam.
At the same time parliament
leaders from seven Nordic and Baltic countries were calling on President Xi in
Beijing, a first time for these countries to come as a group. From their visit,
they expressed admiration for what China has achieved, the technological
innovations they have seen and the potential to cooperate with China as part of
the BRI.
Other than countries that see
themselves as rivals of China, such as the U.S., Japan and possibly India,
there are few if any other countries that have not expressed the desire to
enhance good will and develop a closer relationship with China. Despite hostile
views from American politician and pundits, China is simply not perceived as a
threat.
Recently at a public forum on
Stanford campus, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was quoted as saying the
American military presence around the world is necessary to combat terrorism. If
that’s really the case, he should convince his boss in the White House to stop
thinking about China as a possible adversary and think about recruiting China
as a partner.
China shares common interest
in counterterrorism and possess some new weapons to add to the fight. Advances
in artificial intelligence (AI) coupled with high quality security cameras have
enabled China’s public security to identify fugitives, criminals and terrorists
in real time.
The American military could
use such systems in combat zones in the Middle East. The system could also
monitor passersby around embassies and scan arriving passengers at the airport
immigration—a much more practical alternative to enacting blanket bans of
travelers from selected countries.
There are other developments
where the US can profit by learning from China. To maintain their hold on
manufacturing, China is developing and relying on robotics and automation.
China is not trying to hold on to low end manufacturing with low paid workers;
China is instead developing manufacturing for high valued products that can do without
any workers on the factory floor.
Somebody should be advising Trump that high
end and high precision manufacturing is the future—not the labor intensive, low
value products he is trying to wrestle back to America.
As a matter of fact, there is
so much to be gained for the two powers to collaborate rather than resort to
pointless confrontation. Clearly, China is determined to make friends globally
one project at a time. They could even apply their infrastructure expertise to
help Trump make America great.
China is not seeking to win
at the expense of the US, nor should the US look for vice versa. If both were
to cooperate, tension would ease and world approval can only go up for both
powers.
