Obama's wise embrace of China

Imagine that there are only some 200 individuals in the world. Some are young, some are old, and each one has a unique past. One person has been around since the end of the 18th century, and by the end of the 20th, he has earned the most money, received a good education and has become a clear leader of this small community. Yet, despite his various successes, at times he feels a bit insecure. Whenever he sees that a different guy or gal on the block is growing smart and prosperous, he scrambles to limit their access to power, money, friends, education or anything else that would help them improve themselves.

The behavior of this hypothetical community member is that of a bully, not of a true leader.

On Saturday, President Obama spoke on the future of U.S.-Asian relations. In his remarks, he proclaimed that he does not plan to contain China's prosperity and growth, stating, "The national security and economic growth of one country need not come at the expense of another."

With those words, Obama officially welcomed China's ambitions and elevated China to the status of equal partner in the global economic structure. Obama's remarks are a sign that the U.S. has risen from the level of economic paranoia to a nation confident that the economic growth of other nations can, in turn, help the U.S. develop. If the U.S. accepts such progress throughout the world, other nations will accept our progress as well. Benefits go to all. Certainly, Obama's announcement is a great step forward for bringing a positive image of the U.S. back into the world.

Critics argue that no country can seize China's growing power, and that Obama's declaration is a proof of the world's awe before the Chinese economy. The first part of the argument is absolutely true. Nobody can stop a growing power, and any attempt to contain the growth in China would be pathetic. The Chinese nation has the potential and the resources to fulfill its ambitions. The strengths of the U.S. lie in fields different from those of China. Therefore the U.S. would not be able to "contain" China for long even if it attempted to do so.

To the latter argument (that the U.S. is in awe of the Chinese economy), a recent article in The New York Times argues that the lender-borrower relationship between China and the U.S. provoked the pacifist move on Obama's part, which is questionable. A superpower like the United States would not bow before anybody. Accepting an equal, though, is a different thing from ceding one's power. Once the American president and his Chinese counterpart have realized that the two countries have different fortes, cooperation and global task management becomes incredibly easy.

The American nation is finally accepting the greatness of other nation states with dignity. As a country, we are not losing. We are on the track to gaining worldwide respect.