Obama's Foreign Policy on China
President Barack Obama and his administration’s foreign policy toward China can be summed up in one word: conciliatory. Conciliatory is not in the form of any weakness or appeasement, but rather the realization that in the 21st century global market, China is a main player on the world stage. Obama’s foreign policies are a departure from the previous administration. George Bush’s unilateral foreign policies were deemed domineering, even belligerent. From an international standpoint, Anti-American sentiments were at an all-time high during Iraqi War driven years. In America, the domestic stance after 9/11 saw this as an extension of patriotism and commitment. Nowadays, both domestically and internationally, many pundits would argue that Obama’s policy record in China inspires hope and optimism. President Obama is acknowledging the fact of a much more multipolar world exists where America cannot take all of the leadership roles by itself. Yet, at the same time, the world cannot go forward without America. In this respect, China needs a wide open market where they can export all their manufactured goods to consumers worldwide. Thus, it is a mutual benefit for China to have good international relations with other societies to acquire raw materials and sell products to overseas companies. President Obama’s policies toward China reflect a forward marching multilateral approach that deliberates an equal level playing field in terms of economic opportunities so that not one country can monopolize or control the global market. There is a thin line when it comes to economic diplomacy and military presence, so in regards to the currency value of the Chinese Yuan/Renminbi, the Obama administration has used strategic requests to the World Trade Organization and United Nations to sanction China on purposely keeping their currency low. These formal accusations were discussed early this year between President Obama and President Hu Jintao. There has been a consensus among the
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