Complex but Cordial Relationship Between China and U.S.

China’s president Hu Jintao just finished his visit to Washington. Behind the smiles, China may pose serious challenges to America. Some critics stated that China and United States have had a complex but cordial relationship since George W. Bush was elected in 2000. While Bush has spent the past five years fighting terrorism and promoting democratic ideas, China has sought to lock up natural resources, oil particularly.

Many countries are more comfortable with China now, even in Europe. The U.S. policy toward China has shifted from engagement with strategic priority of the Clinton administration to integrating China into the global community of the Bush administration. Now, the latest U.S. policy is to persuade China to act responsibly in the global system.

Washington and Beijing are in a quiet war of wills over trade policy, globalization and other issues. “ Never have I seen the rise of another power outside the region, other than the now vanished Soviet Union, begin to rival the dominant U.S presence. But that’s precisely what China is beginning to do,” says retired American ambassador V. Manuel Rocha. Harry Harding, director of research and analysis at the Eurasia Group, describes China as a “multidimensional power”. China is growing in both economics and military.

According to the Newsweek’s analysis, along with China’s energy-hunger and the growing economic, its new best friends include North Korea, Burma, Zimbabwe, Angola, Sudan, Iran, Pakistan and Venezuela. These countries are rich in natural resources. For instance, China owns 40 percent of Sudan’s oil infrastructure, and China is a partner in developing nuclear power plant in Pakistan. Now, China is increasingly using soft power to achieve its geostrategic goals and it poses a potential threat to U.S. interests.