China’s Stake
Gordon Chang’s post discussing China’s foreign policy stance in the coming year is a great example of the green lantern theory of geopolitics; Chang thinks that it’s not only desirable, but possible, for the US to prevent China from taking a “commanding role in shaping the global order.” Chang sees it as a weakness that on issues of proliferation, Iran, Sudan and most other global problems which China — because it is the world’s largest country with the fourth largest GDP and the world’s manufacturer — necessarily has a role to play, the US has been trying to enlist their assistance on a non-confrontational basis. Chang seems to be deluded into thinking that China isn’t a major player on the world scene, and we can just ignore them. Of course, their aforementioned economic heft and veto spot on the security council make that vision impossible. The other alternative between covering up our eyes and pretending China isn’t there is pursuing a policy of petty confrontation that Chang supports. He seems to think that at every possible moment we should be sticking our finger in China’s eye, always exaggerating their threat to world order and the US, and always painting their actions in the most nefarious way possible. Why couldn’t Commentary just stick to the Middle East?
