I happen to believe that the U.S. is better off finding accommodation with China that launching a policy of confrontation. I don’t mean “appeasement,” but rather a rational, clear-headed approach to economic and political relations with what is now the second largest economy in the world.
Unfortunately, we’re heading into an election year and its deja vu all over again. Whoever is out criticizes whoever is in as being soft of China. It’s happened in every election since the ’90s, irrespective of parties. Unsurprisingly, Mitt Romney is the worst panderer this time around, bashing Obama over China policy.
I have actually come to admire China in a number of ways, though I think their oppressive policies toward expression is abominable and, frankly, self-defeating.
But here’s what passes for support for China in the current debate. William Reinsch, a real thought leader in foreign trade, had this to say in a recent Politico article:
“The unsuccessful policy is to try to hold these guys back,” said William Reinsch, chairman of the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission. “If we don’t sell it or they can’t steal it from us, they’ll get it from someone else.”
