Conscious of the shift in what the communists call the ‘correlation of forces’, Beijing is unlikely to take American criticism lying down. Its reaction, for example, to the statements of the new US Treasury secretary, Timothy Geithner accusing Beijing of manipulating the value of its currency to the disadvantage of Washington, was quick and dismissive. Beijing is surely aware of the deep divisions within America on how to deal with China. While some in the Obama Administration want to blame China for the current financial crisis, others argue that Washington must be more than nice to Beijing, since it has few other alternatives. Trust Beijing to take full advantage of the unsettled situation in Washington.

Patronising Europe

Premier Wen Jiabao’s extended tour of Europe this week has been billed by the Chinese media as a “journey of confidence”. At a time when the western world is reeling under a massive crisis, Wen does not have to be too subtle in reminding the European leaders that they need Chinese cooperation in saving ‘western capitalism’.

Wen arrives first in Switzerland for bilateral business and making a major speech at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos. He then travels to Germany, Spain and Britain, and will also stop by to meet the European Union leaders in Brussels. In a deliberate snub to the French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who angered Beijing late last year by meeting the Dalai Lama, Wen is not traveling to Paris. By putting France down, China is signalling to the rest of Europe that it can’t have it both ways — of talking tough on human rights to China and seeking its cooperation when convenient or necessary. In that sense, Wen’s ‘journey of confidence’ is about underlining the changing power balance between Brussels and Beijing.

... contd.