China Daily, China
11-09-07
US does not fear stronger China, Paulson
US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson is pictured during a G7 finance ministers
and central bank governors meeting at the Treasury Department in Washington
October 19, 2007. [Agencies]
The United States does not fear an economically stronger China, US Treasury
Secretary Henry M. Paulson said Thursday.
"We do not fear an economically stronger and more competitive China, which
benefits the Chinese people, the American people, and the prosperity of the
global economy." Paulson said when addressing the Fourth Annual China
Institute Executive Summit.
"The US-China economic relationship is among my highest priorities," he said,
adding that it is also among the most challenging.
"The United States and China have a unique role to play in the coming decades
in assuring a strong global economy and shaping the global economic agenda,"
he noted.
China 'great challenge' - Giuliani
Also on Thursday, US 2008 Republican front-runner Rudolph Giuliani said that
emerging China was a "great challenge" to the country, and backed continued
engagement with Beijing.
The former New York mayor also called for an increase in US military strength to
"deter China from mounting a security challenge to America."
"China is a great challenge to the United States, and maybe one of the most
important challenges," Giuliani told an audience of mainly students at Iowa
State University.
"We will be the two great economies in the world. The more we make sure
China's rise is peaceful, the better it is going to help the United States," Giuliani
said in response to a question from a Chinese student. "We should remain
substantially engaged with China."
Giuliani's comments marked one of his first significant discussions of China
policy during his campaign, and signaled he would continue the engagement
strategy favored by recent US administrations if elected president.
"To make sure that China doesn't think of challenging us militarily, we should
increase the size of our military," Giuliani said.
US Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton wrote in the latest edition of Foreign
Affairs journal that the Sino-US relationship would be "the most important
bilateral relationship in the world in this century" and called for "co-operatitve" ties
with Beijing.
Senator Barack Obama, second to Clinton in national polls branded China as a
"competitor" but not necessarily an enemy.
Another leading Democratic candidate, John Edwards, has warned that with the
US preoccupation with other global hotspots like Iraq, Iran and Democratic
Republic of Korea, China has not had enough attention from US policymakers in
recent years.
Republican candidates have been generally less concerned about China's
economic tactics, than its military buildup. In the latest edition of Foreign Affairs
journal, US Senator John McCain wrote that China could bolster its good will that
it is peacefully rising by being more transparent about its military buildup.