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Is Kerry the lucky charm for Sino-US relations?

By Liu Weidong: 0 Comment(s)Print E-mail China.org.cn, February 8, 2013

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U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry shows his first diplomatic passport during the welcoming ceremony at the Department of State in Washington D.C. on Feb.4, 2013. John Kerry was sworn in on Feb 1 to succeed Hillary Clinton to become U.S. Secretary of State. [Xinhua/Fang Zhe]

Before John Kerry succeeded Hillary Clinton as U.S. Secretary of State, the press had spoken highly of him considering his experience and stable posture during his 28 years of Senate life. This optimism even extended into the area of Sino-U.S. relations, which has seen numerous twists and turns over the years.

Kerry's views on China

Born in 1943, Kerry has been an unswerving member of the Democratic Party. Congressional voting records show that he is a liberal, but goes against his party in issues including education and deficit reduction. In recent years, he has also been bold and straightforward in such issues as energy safety and the reform of election funds. As he is appreciated by his peers, his nomination for Secretary of the State was approved quite quickly. This stands in clear contrast to the story of Chuck Hagel in Congress, who was nominated Secretary of Defence.

As Senator, Kerry has visited China many times and views the nation as a cooperative partner instead of an enemy. He publicly opposed increasing military presence in the Asia-Pacific region to prevent others from thinking about ring-fencing China. In April 2009, Kerry said that the Sino-U.S. relationship was no doubt the most important bilateral relationship in the world, and that any global problem needs to be resolved jointly by the two countries. In December 2010, Kerry stressed in his presentation that although China was not an ally of the United States today, the United States could not treat it like an enemy. He thinks that the benefits of the two countries have been interwoven and will continue to interweave with each other. If China fails, the United States will suffer.

Compared with issues in the Middle East and Afghanistan, Kerry was less involved in the China issue. And the number of his visits to China was smaller than that to the aforementioned two areas. This makes him neither a member of the China School camp, nor of the pro-China camp. But he is no doubt one of the politicians with an international view and a clear knowledge of international politics. Additionally, his relatively mild and rational political stands often can form a bridge between differing parties.

When discussing relations with China, Kerry realizes that the future international position of the U.S. will not depend on China's rise, but on its own competitiveness; therefore there is no need to contain China. Instead, the rise of China may bring along more cooperative opportunities for both countries.

U.S. diplomacy in the new combination

Barack Obama has his own reasons for choosing Kerry as his chief diplomat. First, Kerry has a wide diplomatic experience as well as many social contacts both domestically and internationally. The most important thing is that he shares Obama's thoughts on diplomacy, opting for practical diplomacy. At the hearing of the new Secretary of State nominations in the Senate on Jan. 24, Kerry elaborated on the blueprint for his policy of the coming four years. He stressed that only when the U.S. does well domestically, can it maintain its influences globally.

Kerry is more low profile and knows how to combine his own political ideas with Obama's diplomatic intentions and state policies. He does not usurp the host's role, nor does he run off at the mouth. At the same time, if Hagel, who is also practical, can get Congress' approval to become Secretary of Defense, coordination among the White House, the Foggy Bottom and the Pentagon will be improved to an unprecedented level.

This move is set to reduce any internal friction within the U.S. decision-making body and improve the efficiency of its diplomatic actions. However, the impact of any head of cabinet is merely latent and indirect as the president still remains the final decision maker in diplomacy.

At present, Obama faces multiple complicated domestic issues. He has to think about the influence of his diplomatic policy on significant domestic issues including rebooting the economy and reforming the tax system. At the same time, he must consider, coordinate and control the requests of the Democratic Party and the Republican Party from both houses of the Congress. In this regard, the general direction of the U.S. diplomacy got defined before Secretary of State was even nominated.

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