Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
As China prepares for its leadership transition later this year, Beijing has faced an unusual number of high-profile political incidents which has the potential to help shift the balance of power within China’s leadership to give a larger voice to proponents of reform.
Despite repeated incidents in U.S.-China relations that could have produced significant strains between Beijing and Washington, relations so far have remained productive and durable. This is likely a product of the Obama administration’s top-level initiative since 2010 to draw China’s leaders into personal engagement in managing affairs to avoid or deal with tensions.
The 1959 movie The Mouse That Roared offers a useful metaphor for understanding North Korea.
The Obama administration now faces awkward choices about how to respond to North Korea's flouting of the United Nations resolution and the negotiating record of the February 29 agreement.
In the absence of clear indications of the direction Kim Jung Un intends to take, firm resistance to provocations will be a steadying influence.
Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping's upcoming visit to the United States will be an opportunity to represent America’s issues frankly and privately. However, it is important to leave partisan politics out of the visit.
President Ma faces a full agenda as he prepares to launch his second four-year term on May 20, with high costs of housing and education, stagnant incomes, and changing lifestyles threatening Taiwan's economic growth.
As Taiwan's elections approach, Beijing and Washington are quietly hoping for the re-election of Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou and the maintenance of the status quo in cross-strait relations.
The death of North Korean dictator Kim Jung Il increases the likelihood that the stress on the multiple fault lines in Korean society will reach the point of breaking. Secret talks with China to plan for contingencies may be needed now more than ever.
Portrayals of the Obama administration's return to Asia as an effort to contain China exaggerate competition between Washington and Beijing. As the 2012 presidential election draws near, U.S. officials must adopt a prudent approach to China in the face of mounting anti-China rhetoric.
