Happy New Year Moderate Voice people!
So which superpower or superpower pretender had the best year in 2009? Was it China, Russia or the United States? According to columnist Fyodor Lukyanov of the Russian newspaper Gazeta – the answer is unequivocally China.
Outlining the challenges both the United States and Russia have in dealing with the new powerhouse, for Gazeta, Fyodor Lukyanov writes in part:
Argentine Federal Judge Octavio de Lamadrid has a chance to enter the annals of history. The decision to issue a warrant for the arrest of the former Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party, Jiang Zemin, for crimes against humanity (suppression of the Falun Gong religious movement) is in sharp contrast with the general political atmosphere that has developed around China.
Since 1999, when the country was headed by Jiang Zemin and the PRC announced its entry into a globalized world with Chinese investment, the PRC’s weight on the international stage has grown steadily. China deliberately focused almost exclusively on the expansion of its own economic capacity while eschewing political ambition. This has provoked confusion among others – it’s unclear how to conduct oneself with them. And as the situation is unclear, everyone at least tries to be cautious.
In regard to Iran, Lukyanov writes:
Beijing’s position on sanctions against Iran is very simple. If Russia allows its relations with Washington and European capitals to be aggravated and votes “no,” China will offer moral support without conflict with anyone on its own. But if Moscow agrees with sanctions, Beijing will abstain, again maintaining good relations with everyone – including Tehran.
Complimenting Obama – but putting his accomplishments in regard to China in context, Lukyanov writes:
The October celebration of China’s 60th anniversary became yet another symbol of forward motion. But the most revealing in terms of Beijing’s global position was the China visit of the U.S. president and the Copenhagen conference on climate change.
China’s Communist Party functionaries gracefully outplayed Obama. He was shown honor and respect, but was received just like any other American president – no more and no less. There would have been nothing unusual about the visit without Barack Obama’s special character. In many respects, his foreign policy resources are based on the image of an untraditional politician who lays the foundation for a new international system, and therefore deserves special treatment. In Shanghai and Beijing, Obama was allowed to go through all of the obligatory motions, but their effect was carefully limited – some of the events the U.S. president participated in weren’t shown or were shown in a special way: some events had smaller audiences than expected and certain questions weren’t asked. Overall, the visit came out looking fairly bland.
By Fyodor Lukyanov*
Translated by Yekaterina Blinova
December 25, 2009
Russia – Gazeta – Original Article (Russian)
Argentine Federal Judge Octavio de Lamadrid has a chance to enter the annals of history. The decision to issue a warrant for the arrest of the former Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party, Jiang Zemin, for crimes against humanity (suppression of the Falun Gong religious movement) is in sharp contrast with the general political atmosphere that has developed around China.
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