Morgan Paige Lewis

China Policy
American Foreign Policy
April 11, 2014

As of 2011, a strategic outline of American foreign policy has been issued for the
Pacific/Asia area. The goals discussed by Hillary Clinton encompass an overall
democratic approach to global progress, specifically in China. As a rising power, the
United States has made hasty means to develop strong bilateral ties with such a nation.
The six key lines of action Hillary Clinton proposed in Americas Pacific Century
were: strengthening bilateral security alliances; deepening our working relationships
with emerging powers, including with China; engaging with regional multilateral
institutions; expanding trade and investment; forging a broad-based military presence;
and advancing democracy and human rights(Clinton). To reach such goals there were
many actions planned to be put in place. Some of such are the Strategic and Economic
Dialogue that was launched by Timothy Geithner and Hillary Clinton and the TransPacific Partnership (TPP) that was supposed to bring together economies across the
Pacific. Some other goals presented are the four principle areas of focus for U.S
assistance to China that consist of: supporting efforts on environmental protection and
climate-change mitigation, advancing the rule of law and human rights, assisting Tibetan
communities, and addressing the threat of pandemic diseases(U.S Department of State).
While the first goals represent where the United States is focusing its interest, the second
goals outline where the United States support lies, specifically in environmental and
human right concerns.

However, many of the programs and ideologies set up to support the United States
goals for bilateral relations with China have left the Chinese on edge. For example, TTP
lies as a threat to Chinas current relation ties with Asian countries through ASEAN (10 +
1 and 10 + 3), increasing U.S military in the region posses as a concern, and mistrust
formed from U.S cyber-meddling, have resulted in a tension-relation. Furthermore, one
of the major lines of action, advancing democracy and human rights, has failed to leave a
promising impression on China. While the U.S stands to support human rights, there is
little it has been able to do to convince China of like-wise ideologies. In current news,
Dr. Xu Zhiyong, an advocate for human rights and founder of the transparency
movement(BBC), was sentenced to a four-year jail sentence when trialed for gathering
people to disrupt order. When the U.S and other UN countries expressed concern,
Chinas foreign ministry spokeswoman, Hua Chunying, stated, We urge the United
States to stop its gesticulating at China on such individual cases, and stop using so-called
human rights as an excuse to interfere in China's internal affairs(Reuter). This instance,
of the many regarding China and human rights, is one example that freedom and the
practice of law enforcement is different, and wants to remain different, then that of the
west. As tensions cease to decrease between the United States and China, the U.S must
be willing to utilize other strategies and perhaps goals to reach a satisfying relationship
for the future. Three alternative strategies and one superior have been outlined.
There are many benefits from having strong bilateral ties with rising countries
such as China and the rest of the Pacific/Asia countries. There are even more benefits
from having ties with such countries who share common practices and ideologies. This
strategy focuses on democratic encouragement, similarly to the current strategy. Its three

main objectives are: security, democratic promotion, and economic advancements.

Through this strategy, the United States focus on security would be decreasing military
presence in the Eastern area to reduce tension that has recently arisen, establishing
stronger military alliances with China by allowing more Chinese militia to train on U.S
soil or bases, and by decreasing Shinzo Abe and Benigno S. Aquino III influence in the
strategic actions. These goals would be implemented to clear the air, bring comfort
back to the Pacific/Asia region, and demonstrate that the United States can sympathize
with military regulation. As for democratic promotion, the United States would continue
to state its indifferences concerning the rights of Chinas citizens and the role of the
government. By doing so the U.S would support humanitarian aid, strengthen alliances
with already democratic-based governing such as Japan, promote education, and promote
transparency within the government. Providing such enforcement would demonstrate the
United States ties to its ideologies and ideally sway China to promote such policies as
well. Lastly, economic advancements that would be focused on would be the promotion
of free trade, economic growth, and a diverse economy. These policies represent a
strategy that suggests the U.Ss advancements towards improving military and economic
ties yet still promoting its ideologies. The favorable results that may come with such a
strategy are stronger economic and military relations; so long as China and its
neighboring countries no longer seemed threated, and possible improvement of
government regulation and human right affairs. On the other side, unfavorable results
that may fester are increasing tension from U.S involvement in Chinas internal affairs
and as a result possible decreases in economics advancements.

Another strategy that may be implemented is one whose main objectives do not
rely on ideological promotion and internal investment in China but instead solely on
economic advancement, military alliance, multilateral relations, and maintaining the
Bandung Spirit. Throughout this policy the United States would work to advance
economic relations with China and the Pacific/Asia region by advocating the importance
of trade. As for military alliance, it would be similar to that of the first strategy, in which
the U.S would allow more Chinese militia to train on U.S soil or bases and reduce the
influence of Shinzo Abe and Benigno S. Aquino III on strategic action. For multilateral
relations, the United States would plan to establish communication with China and
Chinas neighboring countries on situations of concern such as economic and military
topics. The U.S also may look to make ties with neighboring countries of similar
ideologies and acceptance of internal activism to strengthen securities. Lastly, this
strategy focuses on the Bandung spirit. A 1955 conference between Asia-Africa was a
milestone for Asian-African relations. The core values of the Bandung Spirit
solidarity, equality, and peace, represent the idea that its a nation alone that should
maintain independence and try to find ways that best suit their own development (Sike
Wu). These core values are one that has held strong and promoted alliances and
economic development between China and other nations. And it is these core values that
could also, through this strategy; help promote strong relations between the United States
and China. Positive results of implementing such a strategy would be further
development of relations between Chinas neighboring nations, economic advancement,
and the promotion of peace between countries. Some unfavorable results that have the
possibility of occurring are Chinas refusal to practice Bandung-like values with the

United States, disagreement that the economy between the U.S and China should be
further invested into.
The last possible alternative to the United States Pacific/Asian region is to follow
a policy whose main focus points are: Economic growth, democracy and human right
activism, military alliances, multilateral connections, and military force. This policy
represents the idea that the United States would look to build promising economic and
military relations with China as well as its neighboring countries. Its difference with the
first stated strategy is that instead of promoting democracy and human rights, it will look
for active ways to enforce them. These means of enforcement could be through
economic incentives (both good and bad), the removal of scholarships, the removal of
educational promotion through college exchanges, the influx of military forces in the
Pacific/Asian region, and the increase of military and ideology connections in the area.
Some of the benefits that would arise from following such a policy that goes smoothly
would be the slow development of a rising democratic style country, strong free trade and
economic growth with China, and the increase in multilateral connections. If things are
not seen eye-to-eye and China takes the United States actions as a threat, there is the
possibility of China cutting its ties with the U.Ss economy, the use of military
action/preparation, and the involvement of Chinas allies such as Russia.
Out of the three alternatives, the one superior is the second option. This strategy
emphasizes economic advancement, military alliance, multilateral relations, and
maintaining the Bandung Spirit. Its superiority towards the others is not because its
focus lies on numerous alternative objectives but instead because it exercises one new
main value: respecting the sovereignty and independence of China. In the keynote

speech of the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2014, Li Keqiang expresses
Chinas commitment to a peaceful development. To do so he suggests the ideas that,
Countries in Asia should continue to act in the spirit of solidarity in face of difficulties,
turn the strong economic complementarity into mutual support for each other's
development and continuously expand convergence of interests(Li Keqiang). Applying
such ideologies to that of our own policy does one very important task: Takes Chinese
values into consideration. Though there is justification in supporting democratic and
human rights promotion, it is in the United States best interest to share and practice these
ideologies within itself and with those who hold the same principles. As for those who
dont, pressure of mothering countries such as ourselves implies external control of
sovereign internal affairs. Therefore, by eliminating such concerns that pose an issue to
China, the United States would open gates to better economic strategies and
advancement, improve military alliance, and developing stronger multi/bi-lateral ties
within the region.
In order to implement such a strategy and achieve its goals the United States main
objective is reevaluation of current U.S-China relation programs, the investment in
promising ones, and the creation of new ones. Achieving economic advancement with
China is the first goal noted. To attain such relations the United States must be willing to
tweak agreements such as TPP in order to assure China that the U.S understands its
concerns towards the program. Other programs, such as the ones generally agreed on
between the U.S and China, should be advanced. An example of such promotion would
be in the trade of safe food and drugs. Military alliance, on the other hand, is one that
cannot be formed without trust from both countries. In essence this implies that the

United States reduce military in the region to ease tension and promote peace with China.
It also suggests that programs such as military base training for the Chinese occur not
only in the U.S but also in China for American soldiers. Assuring multilateral relations is
also a main goal for the United States and to implement such a policy the U.S must be
prepared to create ties with countries that not only share the same ideologies with it but
with those, like China, that do not. Programs of mutual interest between nations are the
ones the U.S would support and implement. Lastly, to establish a secure and trustworthy
relation, the United States must actively integrate the Bandung Spirit into its foreign
affairs. In order to do so, programs such as those that support democratic promotion and
human right advocacy must be removed from China and its neighboring countries that
oppose such ideologies. In their place the United States would instead promote peace
and independence with such countries. As a result, the U.S would not only build bi/multilateral relations through the Bandung Spirit but also pave the path for all other main
objectives who currently fail to be stablished.

Work Cited
"China rejects appeal of citizens movement founder - The Washington Post." N.p., Web.
14 Apr. 2014. <http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/china-rejectsappeal-of-citizens-movement-founder/2014/04/10/b8d5a53a-c11d-11e3-9ee702c1e10a03f0_story.html>.
"China." N.p., 16 Aug. 2013. Web. 5 Apr. 2014.
<http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/18902.htm>.
Clinton, H. "America's Pacific Century." N.p., Web. 5 Apr. 2014.
<http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2011/10/11/americas_pacific_century>.
"U.S. Policy in the East Asia and Pacific Region for 2014." N.p., 4 Feb. 2014. Web.
5 Apr. 2014. <http://fpc.state.gov/220927.htm>.
"China tells U.S. to stop 'gesticulating' on rights cases| Reuters." N.p., Web.
14 Apr. 2014. <http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/04/14/uk-china-usa-rightsidUKBREA3D0GB20140414>.
Descheng, C. "'Bandung spirit' lives on after 50 years." N.p., Web. 14 2014.
<http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-04/19/content_435352.htm>.
"Li Keqiang Attends Opening Ceremony of Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference
2014 and Delivers Keynote Speech." N.p., Web. 10 Apr. 2014.
<http://www.fmprc.gov.cn/mfa_eng/zxxx_662805/t1146133.shtml>.
Sike, W. "Self-Decision Ability Key to Middle East Problems | CHINA US Focus."
N.p., Web. 9 Apr. 2014. <http://www.chinausfocus.com/foreign-policy/selfdecision-ability-key-to-middle-east-problems/>.
"U.S. Policy in the East Asia and Pacific Region for 2014." N.p., Web. 2 Apr. 2014.
<http://fpc.state.gov/220927.htm>.
"Joint Fact Sheet on Strengthening U.S.-China Economic Relations | The White House."
N.p., Web. 11 Apr. 2014. <http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-pressoffice/2013/12/05/joint-fact-sheet-strengthening-us-china-economic-relations>.