How not to engage China

Few would disagree with United States Secretary of State- designate Madeleine Albright's characterization of human rights as "almost a signature element of our policy". But, it may be added, no blank checks should be signed where international affairs are concerned. This is not because human rights are not important -- they are -- but because they create more problems than they resolve if they become the determining element of relations between nation-states at different stages of development and which have diverse political cultures. This reality gave a certain adversarial edge to Ms Albright's statement, made at her Senate confirmation hearing last week, that Washington was prepared to cosponsor again a resolution criticizing China's human rights policy if there was no improvement before the United Nations Human Rights Commission meeting in Geneva. There is, of course, nothing to stop the Americans from trying to place the issue on the international agenda, but whether the Chinese will change their policy to fit others' prescriptions is at best doubtful.

Notwithstanding the disagreement over human rights, it was reassuring to hear Ms Albright say last week that since the relationship with China would be "dominant in many ways", it was essential "to manage that multifaceted relationship very well". She defended, therefore, the decision to link Beijing's human rights record and trade benefits, and argued that the way forward lay in integrating and not isolating the country so that it could emerge as a responsible member of the international community. This was a reiteration of U.S. realism and maturity in its dealings with other nations, not least China, whose economic strength, political influence and military clout make it very unlikely that it will take a back seat in international affairs. The challenge is to ensure that the Chinese, when they come into their own, see themselves as partners and not adversaries of the dominant powers that underpin the status quo today. The U.S., as both the greatest of these powers and a major beneficiary of the system, has both the ability to ensure, and the interest in ensuring, that China has an irreplaceable stake in a peaceful and stable post-Cold War order.

-- The Straits Times, Singapore