Family Security Matters » Publications » China: Ideal Versus Reality

Family Security Matters » Publications » China: Ideal Versus Reality: "The best spin that can be put on President Barack Obama’s first visit to the People’s Republic of China is that it was a learning experience. It certainly was not a demonstration of U.S. leadership. Indeed, the impression left with Chinese leaders was the same one the American president has been giving to the rest of the world; inexperience and indecision masked by naïve and empty rhetoric. Obama’s outward confidence, even arrogance, is a bluff. Inside, he feels he must retreat and avoid confrontation because he knows he cannot handle any real challenges. What else can be made of the keynote address he made in Tokyo just before heading to Beijing?

“I know there are many who question how the United States perceives China’s emergence,” said Obama, “In an inter-connected world, power does not need to be a zero-sum game, and nations need not fear the success of another. Cultivating spheres of cooperation – not competing spheres of influence – will lead to progress in the Asia Pacific.” This is the kind of liberal nonsense that has been spewed forth in the name of idealism for over two centuries—two of the most violent centuries in history. Such talk can usually be dismissed as diplomatic hypocrisy, but the danger is that Obama, whose only knowledge of world affairs comes from the ivory tower, may actually believe this tripe."