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Analysis: Hu's 'Peaceful' Diplomacy

Council on Foreign Relations

Updated: April 18, 2006
Prepared by: Esther Pan

A four-day U.S. visit by China's President Hu Jintao will find him meeting with the world's richest man (SeattlePI), Microsoft's Bill Gates, and its most powerful man, George W. Bush. Hu hopes to reassure Americans (Reuters) about China's growing power, its undervalued currency, and the massive U.S. trade deficit with his country. In preparation for the trip, a Chinese trade delegation to the United States contracted $16.2 billion in American goods and announced a clampdown on piracy (CSMonitor), an issue particularly close to Gates' heart. In spite of attempts to appear conciliatory, however, these efforts alone are not expected to assuage China's American critics (Economist).

Council Senior Fellow Elizabeth Economy tells cfr.org's Bernard Gwertzman in this interview that China's agenda for the meeting includes public acknowledgement of its status as a significant world player. Since 2003, China's foreign policy has been formulated according to its "peaceful rise" policy. This states that China will develop economically in a peaceful international environment while maintaining and contributing to world peace. The implications of the idea, first articulated by Chinese scholar and political adviser Zheng Bijian, are examined in this CFR Background Q&A. Experts say the policy came about after China's leaders recognized that to ensure continued economic growth and domestic stability—their two highest priorities—they had to reassure the rest of the world, and particularly Asia, of their peaceful intentions. Such assurances are necessary as China's economy and military might continue to grow.

Read the rest of this article on the cfr.org website.

Copyright 2006 by the Council on Foreign Relations. This material is republished on GlobalSecurity.org with specific permission from the cfr.org. Reprint and republication queries for this article should be directed to cfr.org.