On the eve of a historic meeting of minds on 7-8 June between Obama and Xi at Suunylands, a Californian desert luxury retreat built by Walter H. Annenberg in Rancho Mirage, it is timely to re-visit a People's Daily interview with Zbigniew Brzezinski, a doyen of Amreican foreign policy dated 7 March 2013.
Brzinsky's comments are instructive -
"That’s the new reality. We have to get accustomed to the idea that the fifty years of the American domination of the world, militarily, financially, has finished. We are still the number one power and will still be for some decades to come, and then we will see what happens. But in the meantime, we have to work with others—and with you—very much so, but also Japan. American-Japanese ties are not meant against China, but are meant to maintain stability in the west Pacific.
"And we want to strengthen Europe, because a stronger Europe will have more opportunity to be a constructive player on the world’s scene. We need a stronger Europe on the world’s scene. The fact is Europe is unable to cope with problems that affect Europe, so they come to us all the time for help. We have to have a relationship with the Europeans which will create a greater capacity both to deal with these problems and on that basis to seriously negotiate with the Far East regarding trade arrangements and so forth.
"I’m sorry that the trans-pacific partnership idea, that we are propagating, doesn’t include China. I think that is a mistake. But I also know there is a Chinese proposal, for an Asian cooperative sphere, which does not include us. We are both making mistakes."
Ahead of the meeting, President Xi is quoted in the China Daily as saying that he wants to create a new type of relations between major powers that is as unprecedented as it would be instructive for the future. This is in response to popular thinking that rising powers inevitably come to a crash with existing major powers, as evident from the two World Wars.
Francis Fukuyama's "End of History" has long proved to be wrong-headed that the Western model would end all debate. Likewise, Samuel Huntington's "Clash of Civilizations" may not prove to be inevitable.
The world now has no place for any hegemony. The time for hegemonic wars is over. America and China don't have to go to bed with each other. But they can always call up for a drink and reach some crucial understanding in managing an increasingly fractious world. Moreover, China has grown too big to be an elephant in the room. The fear of an unfamiliar and rising China is causing serious regional problems. There is much scope for shared global responsibility.
What Brzinski envisages for the role of America is not to strive to remain a hegemon, but "a little bit like Great Britain in the 19th century vis-à-vis Europe: no involvement on the mainland but careful balancing so that stability is maintained".
For a more in-depth analysis of Brzezinski’s new book “Strategic Vision: America and the Crisis of Global Power", click here
In short, both America and China need to think outside the box in responding to a changed world. Following worn-out one-track minds could only lead to a dead end, if not catastrophe.
The Obama-Xi rendezvous will be at the Annenberg estate, a purported west coast version of Camp David, and a popular retreat for both presidents Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixon. Let's keep our fingers crossed that historic magic between these two leaders will indeed happen, so as to set the scene of things to come for the good of the world in coming decades.
Best regards,
Andrew
