The "top leaders" testing China's future have mixed feelings among Americans (pictures)

The "top leaders" testing China's future have mixed feelings among Americans (pictures) Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping's visit to the United States has aroused mixed reactions. In addition to the media...

Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping’s visit to the United States has elicited mixed reactions. In addition to paying attention to Xi Jinping's words and deeds, the media also analyzes Sino-US relations from various levels.

(Deutsche Welle Chinese website) Xi Jinping’s visit schedule is extremely rich. He met with U.S. President Obama, Secretary of State Clinton, and Secretary of Defense Panetta, accompanied by U.S. Vice President Biden in person, held discussions with business people at the Chamber of Commerce, gave a speech at the invitation of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations and the Bilateral Economic Council, and met with members of the U.S. Congress...

For a full day and a half, Washington paid great attention to the Chinese Vice President. Because it's important for the White House to get to know the man who everyone expects to be China's president next year.

The American media also made detailed reports. The Washington Post devoted a full page to publishing an article titled "A Crucial Visit between China and the United States" on Monday (February 13), and the next day used half a page to introduce Xi Jinping to readers. On Tuesday this week, all major American television stations gave large-scale coverage of Xi Jinping’s visit, and interviews with many politicians and experts also focused on Sino-US relations.

Americans watch China with concern

The conservative Fox News accused the Obama administration of being too accommodating to China and re-broadcast the scene of Obama bowing to Hu Jintao and shaking hands at the Washington Nuclear Security Summit in April 2010. The liberal TV station MSNBC highlighted China's veto of the draft resolution on Syria in the Security Council. CNN asked an economist to explain why China is important to the United States: the trade balance between the two sides is as high as 300 billion U.S. dollars. China is the second largest trading partner of the United States after Canada and the largest creditor nation of the United States.

Americans watch the rising economic power of China with concern. A Pew Research Center poll a year ago showed that 53% of respondents believed that China's economic growth was detrimental to the United States. In another survey in January this year, China was listed as the country that poses the greatest threat to the United States after Iran.

Worried about American jobs

Americans’ biggest worry is that China’s economic policies will affect American jobs. The American Chamber of Commerce and Industry is a federation representing small and medium-sized enterprises, especially those in the processing industry. In a full-page newspaper notice, the association listed the main disputes between the United States and China: piracy, currency manipulation, environmental pollution, state subsidies, dumping prices, etc. Their plea to President Obama is to translate tough words into action. During his State of the Union address in January, Obama said he would not stand by while "our competitors break the rules."

Kevin Kearns, president of the American Employers Federation, explained his request to President Obama in an interview with Deutsche Welle: "There are various ways to deal with currency manipulation, such as taxing RMB-USD transactions so that China cannot manipulate the market and depress the value of the RMB. Another way is to increase tariffs on Chinese products." He refused to call such an approach trade protectionism, but called it "healthy reason." However, Keynes does not believe that the U.S. government will actually implement such measures on a large scale.

Uncompromising on currency issues

Former deputy secretary of state at the Department of Commerce and Obama campaign adviser Robert Shapiro believes that such measures are meaningless. If China's currency rises to a level that economists deem appropriate, he said, not only would U.S. workers benefit, but also workers in Thailand, Bangladesh and Malaysia, whose products compete directly with Chinese companies.

In an interview with Deutsche Welle, he said that the currency issue is an issue related to national sovereignty. He pointed out that China has also made concessions, such as on the issue of protecting intellectual property rights. The Chinese government has launched a campaign against counterfeit goods. While the effectiveness is controversial, the motivation is clear. Shapiro said the Chinese would make concessions if it served their own interests or if the United States sent a strong signal. Because they do not want to needlessly mess up relations with the United States, the largest exporter of Chinese goods.

China and the United States have already cooperated in the Iranian nuclear dispute. However, China, together with Russia, vetoed the draft resolution on Syria at the Security Council not long ago. Shapiro said that if Syria becomes an important national security issue for the United States, then we may see greater concessions from China.

Biden's words are clear

Not only US President Obama, but also US Vice President Biden has made a clear statement publicly. After meeting with Xi Jinping at the State Department, Biden said that the two sides talked about the protection of intellectual property rights and the RMB exchange rate, and also publicly discussed their differences. For example, the United States completely disagreed with China and Russia's recent veto of the Syrian draft resolution in the Security Council. Biden also talked about human rights issues. He said: We have made it clear that we are very worried about the deterioration of China's human rights situation. Such a statement is not only for the Chinese people, but also for the domestic audience. The presidential election campaign in the United States has begun. Americans, especially workers who are worried about their jobs, hope that American politicians will show a tough attitude towards China.

Human rights activists believe that the White House’s rhetoric is not tough enough on human rights issues. Gerrit van der Wees held a protest in front of the Presidential Palace on behalf of the Formosan Association for Public Affairs, an organization organized by Taiwanese living in the United States. They held signs and wore strange costumes, demanding Taiwan's independence.

Van der Weiss told DW that it was right for the Obama administration to meet with Xi Jinping. He said Americans have good intentions, they are worried, and they are willing to listen to us and listen to the voices of Tibetans and Uyghurs. However, when meeting with the Chinese, the views should be very clear and candid, and silent diplomacy should not be practiced, because the Chinese do not care about silent diplomacy. Van der Weiss wants American politicians to speak out about specific cases of human rights violations.

Congress’s resistance

Xi Jinping’s appearance seemed polite and calm. He said in a speech that China "welcomes the role of the United States in the Asia-Pacific region" and that the United States has increasingly become a "Pacific country" under President Obama. But on key issues, the future leader of China's country and party is uncompromising.

Several Republican and Democratic senators expressed concerns about China's military modernization and expansion in an open letter to Obama before Xi Jinping's visit, and called on Obama to support U.S. ally Taiwan. Senators are calling for Obama to publicly meet with Chinese dissidents during Xi Jinping's visit. But no such meeting took place. Because although the US side is clear in its words, this is first and foremost a visit to get to know each other and should not offend the guests too much.