Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
As President Clinton exits the White House, Harold Koh, Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, evaluates the administration's strategy for and record of advancing democracy around the world.
Rose Gottemoeller and Thomas Graham, Senior Associates at Carnegie Endowment, and Andrew Kuchins, Director of the Russian and Eurasian Program, discussed Russian geopolitics and nuclear security. The panel was moderated Thomas Carothers, Vice President of Studies. For video clips and transcripts, click here.
A recently announced U.S. arms deal with Taiwan immediately prompted an angry response from Beijing, which warned that there would be "serious consequences" if the deal is approved.
Ultimately, China's attempts to manipulate the private sector will be only one of a number of factors determining the success and transformative power of the Internet in the Middle Kingdom. Domestic and foreign entrepreneurship might very well eventually play their hand in helping to open up the country's economic and political system.
President Clinton is correct that the decision to grant China permanent most-favored-nation trading status will have a historic significance equal to Richard Nixon's opening to China and Jimmy Carter's normalization of relations. But if that's true, why is the president rushing Congress to make a hasty decision, with almost no time to consider the merits and consequences of this momentous step?
The book reveals why managing the rise of China constitutes one of the most important challenges facing the United States in the early 21st century.
Last week, while many China experts inside and outside the Clinton administration were confidently predicting that China would not escalate the conflict with Taiwan, others warned that Beijing might well be contemplating an attack. This turned out to be correct.
The official U.S. posture of prostration before Beijing -- the China hands call it "engagement" -- would be merely pitiful, perhaps even amusing, were it not so dangerous. But the Clinton administration is now applying its strategy of appeasement to the brewing crisis over Taiwan, and the result may be to hasten the military conflict the administration is trying to avoid.
Proliferation Roundtable