Hard decisions ahead in US foreign policy
- Source: Global Times
- [00:45 September 21 2009]
- Comments
GT: How do you understand Obama's foreign policy toward China?
Gwertzman: Obama is under pressure about his attitude toward China. Clearly some Americans, particularly those who are not working, blame their unemployment on Chinese exports. Therefore even though Obama wants to have good relations with China, he felt compelled to raise tariffs on tires to show the workers that his administration knows their problem.
Politically, Obama has to make a decision since trade union has recommended these higher tariffs. If he said no to the policy, it would have made China happy, but the domestic workers' union would be upset and their support is crucial in having Obama's health plan passed. This should be a small story in foreign affairs. The big story should be next week, when Obama and Hu Jintao will meet at the General Assembly of the UN to discuss climate change and nuclear proliferation. Later they will both go to Pittsburgh for the G20 summit, and I presume the two presidents would talk about the trade policies.
But trade issues are difficult to solve. China happens to be the biggest exporter of goods while the US is the largest importer. Importing countries are always annoyed, because the cheaper prices make it hard for local businesses to compete. Everyone in principle is for free trade, yet free trade is always difficult to put into practice. If your country feels you suffer from imports, you put an end to them, and that makes other countries upset.
A few months ago, US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton came to China and spoke mostly about improving relations between the two countries. Some of the press that were accompanying her were a bit disappointed on her not addressing tough issues such as human rights. Basically, I think the US is counting on having a smooth relationship with China, but anything could happen in the future.
GT: How does the US media influence the American foreign policy?
Gwertzman: Sometimes the big stories are not popular stories. Not every media cares about foreign policy. The major new organizations might cover that. But newspapers in the US have very limited space for foreign news.
The media has some influence. For instance, the New York Times has been supporting Obama's foreign policy in Afghanistan, but if the paper said "Let's get out of there," it would have an impact on the liberal supporters of Obama. A poll came out recently from the Pew Research Center which showed that 69 percent of Americans now think American media doesn't give the facts right, and they cannot be trusted. But then the questionnaire included another question, "Do you think the paper you read regularly is impartial?" Most people chose yes.
GT: What challenges do new media, such as Twitter, pose to traditional media?
Gwertzman: The influence of new media is that it comes out immediately. The traditional media is more objective, but new media tends to be more free wheeling.
The new media enables journalists to work 24/7 and get the news online all the time. The impact of the Web is significant. In the past, nytimes.com needed to wait for the big story from the New York Times paper, but with the Web developing so fast, now the editor of the paper needs to beg the website for the big story at their 9:00 am meeting. That pushes the print paper to be less about breaking news and more analytical.
The New York Times has many loyal readers, but now young people doesn't bother to buy the printed version. Instead they get everything online. The New York Times tried offering free papers in university canteens, hoping to get them into the habit of reading the paper, but that didn't work out well.
GT: How has the financial difficulities among newspapers in the US affected their foreign coverage?
Gwertzman: Most newspapers have to rely on the Associated Press and Reuters and a few other major newspapers, since after the loss of so much revenue they can no longer afford to maintain their own correspondents overseas.
Perhaps when the economy gets better, advertisements will be back so that the papers can afford foreign bureaus again, but right now it's tough.
