Afghanistan, climate change crucial for Sino-US trust

• Source: Global Times
• [23:29 December 10 2009]
• Comments

If it is a strategy to subvert China, it has to be long-term and requires patience and perseverance.

Obama is not sticking to this strategy at all. At the same time, by continuing to purchase US treasury bonds, isn't China financing the US e. ort to deprive China of the ability to reach the superpower status?

Are Chinese leaders this shortsighted and dumb? After Obama made the decision to deploy 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan, Bernie Sanders, a senator from Vermont, asked where China is in this e. ort to fight against the Taliban.

He thinks that an unstable Afghanistan will also be troublesome for China. Will China take this offer and deploy troops in Afghanistan? Won't that effectively prevent the military from encircling China?

There is no question that on a per capita basis Americans emit far more carbon than Chinese. There is little doubt China's economy will take a huge hit if it caves in to the US demand of cutting carbon emission significantly in the next several decades.

And slow economic growth in China will create a set of problems that have economic, social and political consequences. Forced carbon emission reduction appears to be a far more evil plot against China by Americans.

But at a closer look, this allegation also seems to be shaky if not baseless.

Less use of coal and oil will wean China o. from sources of potential troubles. It will create a cornucopia of blessings for China: less mining accidents, cleaner environment, better health for its people, and more say on issues related to Sudan, Iran, Myanmar and Zimbabwe.

China's involvement in Afghanistan would not only make China a more responsible global player but also deter any theoretical US attempt to use Afghanistan as a springboard to curtail China's reach in Central Asia.

Beijing's commitment to carbon emission reduction may enable her to transform its economy into one that is more sustainable with more added value and more intellectual innovation. Together, they will initiate a new page in history that sees two nations partnering.

The author is director of the China Program at The Carter Center in Atlanta of the US. yawei.liu@ emory.edu