As the US President George W. Bush heads to the Beijing Olympics this week, the domestic debate on foreign policy may finally turn to China. Thanks to the US preoccupation with the two wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, there has been little focus on Asia by either of the two presidential candidates.

As he swings through Asia for the last time as President, Bush can claim to have left a positive legacy on Asia. Having come to office with barely concealed hostility towards China, Bush leaves a fairly stable and cooperative relationship with Beijing.

The US and China now have an expansive engagement that includes a substantive economic dialogue, frequent high level military contact, and political cooperation on a range of Asian and international security challenges.

At the same time, Bush has also strengthened US ties with traditional Asian allies, including Japan, South Korea and Australia, and laid the foundations for a new strategic partnership with India. Bush, however, is unlikely to claim he has resolved the main contradiction in US policy towards China — between the ideological desire to promote political liberalisation in China and the practical imperatives of engaging a great power on the rise.

This is evident in Bush’s decision to ignore domestic pressures to boycott the Beijing Olympics, despite agreeing to meet five well-known Chinese dissidents before his departure for the games, after which he declared that he will “carry the message of freedom as he travels to Beijing.”

Bush also plans to attend a church service in Beijing on Sunday to highlight the US push for greater religious freedom in China. He wants to convince the new generation of Chinese leadership that “religion is not to be feared but welcomed in society”. The Chinese leadership, relieved that Bush has not boycotted the Olympics, is happy to put up with Bush’s beliefs and minor political provocations.

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