Despite the broadening of the strategic agenda, the Barack Obama administration will continue to work with Beijing on three important "holdover" issues from the Bush administration: Taiwan, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and Iran.
On Taiwan, Washington is pleased with the trajectory of the question since Ma Ying-jeou's election as "president" in May 2008. Cross-Straits relations have substantially stabilized in all spheres.
Washington is encouraged by these trends and takes heart from the Bush administration's successful navigation and management of the dangerous Chen Shui-bian period.
Chinese President Hu Jintao's important speech on New Year's Eve (December 31, 2008) opened the possibility of adding military confidence and security building measures to the other ongoing areas of exchange. This is to be welcomed.
More broadly, there is growing discussion in Washington of the need to undertake a thorough policy review over Taiwan given the dramatic and positive changes in cross-Straits relations.
On the DPRK, the Obama administration has signaled its intent to remain actively engaged in the Six-Party Talks and to pursue the "complete and verifiable" denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. If Pyongyang were to do so, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for the first time stated in unambiguous terms in her Asia Society speech, the US would be prepared to "normalize bilateral relations, replace the peninsula's longstanding armistice agreements with a permanent peace treaty, and assist in meeting the energy and other economic needs of the Korean people". The recent launch of a long-range Taepodong-2 ballistic missile by the DPRK was opposed by Beijing and Washington both.
Finally, with respect to Iran's nascent nuclear program, the Obama administration has signaled a dual policy. The first track is to continue the UN Security Council permanent 5+1 (Germany) "sextet" to try and negotiate with Teheran to abandon its secret program and come under the International Atomic Energy Agency regime. This track will continue to involve China.
The second track is to possibly initiate direct contact with the government in Teheran to begin the long process of normalization of relations. Obama indicated during the presidential election campaign that his administration would pursue such direct contacts. He has reiterated that since assuming office.
The appointment of seasoned Middle East troubleshooter Dennis Ross as Special Envoy with responsibility of Israel and Palestine, the Persian Gulf, and "Southwest Asia" (codeword for Iran) is a step in this direction. While Teheran has not yet signaled a positive willingness to hold such formal direct contacts with Washington, interestingly Iranian diplomats abroad have been privately contacting their Chinese counterparts to ask how China "prepared" for the rapprochement with the US in the early 1970s.
Modalities
Before and during her visit to China, Clinton signaled an alteration in the modalities of strategic dialogue. She had been somewhat critical of the Strategic Economic Dialogue launched by former Treasury secretary Henry Paulson during the Bush administration. Clinton's position seemed to have more to do with her desire to elevate the State Department's role in these dialogues. As a result, it was announced at the Obama-Hu meeting in London that a bilateral "Strategic and Economic Dialogue" would commence, with the first round scheduled to take place in Washington sometime this summer. On the US side, the new dialogue mechanism will be jointly headed by Clinton and Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner.
In pursuing this broader strategic agenda with China, Clinton roiled the human rights community by claiming that human rights concerns "cannot interfere" with the broader strategic agenda. She said in Beijing: "We have to continue to press them but our pressing on these issues (Taiwan, Tibet, human rights) can't interfere with the global financial crisis, the global climate change crisis, and the security crises - we have to have a dialogue that leads to an understanding and cooperation on each of these."
Clinton later backpedaled somewhat to indicate that human rights remained on the agenda and an important issue in the relationship.
In order to push forward the military-to-military exchange ties, the Obama administration should seriously consider asking Congress to repeal a number of the more restrictive aspects of the 2000 Defense Authorization Act, which prohibits a wide range of contacts between the US military and People's Liberation Army.
These provisions may have made sense at that time, but they no longer do so, and they are an impediment to building communication, trust and confidence between the two military establishments.
