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03/11
President Hu and Four Summits in US: Protectionism, Climate Change, Economics, and Non-Proliferation
By CSC staff, Shanghai From September 21 to 25, Chinese President Hu Jintao will attend the UN Climate Change Summit, General Debate of the 64th Session of the General Assembly, UN Security Council Summit on Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament, and the 3rd Financial Summit of G20 Leaders, all in the US. That is four summits in five days, during which Hu will meet with leaders of many countries to discuss a pot full of hot global issues.
The G20 Financial Summit will be held in Pittsburgh on September 24 and 25. China hopes the summit will make progress in: continuing to strengthen coordination of macroeconomic policies and promoting the rapid recovery of the global economy; actively promoting reform of international financial institution governance structure in accordance with the timetable set up at the London summit; increasing the voices from developing and emerging market countries, especially the least developed countries, promoting their common development and paying attention to their problems; opposing trade protectionism; and promoting the Doha Round Negotiations to achieve comprehensive and balanced results as early as possible.
As a country now making major contributions to the current world economic growth, China is expected to voice some of the themes of the G20 summit, and its position could become a base other countries can adhere to in response to the crisis.
“Exit mechanism” was a hot topic before the summit. Some countries believe that it is time to start reducing liquidity after large-scale stimulus policies. In the Summer Davos Forum in Dalian, Premier Wen Jiabao said China would continue its “proactive fiscal policy and loose monetary policy in response to the international financial crisis,” and “persist in its efforts, without wavering or retreat,” so exit mechanisms are unlikely to be a main Chinese point at this summit. “Moderate exit” may be discussed but not large-scale retreat, and, at least in China, the current level will be maintained.
Given the recent Sino-American tire dispute and Chinese anti-dumping investigations on imported US chicken and automotives, one focus in the coming summit will be trade protectionism. Chen Deming, China’s Ministry of Commerce says it will firmly oppose trade protectionism at the Pittsburgh summit.
Because of what it sees as US intransigence, China does not hold high hopes for much in the way of comprehensive financial reform.
The UN Climate Change Summit will be held at UN headquarters in New York on the 22nd, to muster political consensus and inject political impetus for the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference in December. President Hu is expected to explain China’s efforts and announce further measures.
UN Deputy Secretary-General Sha Zukang was not optimistic about the Climate Change Conference, saying, “The position of developing and developed countries is sharply contradictory and hope has not been found yet to break the deadlock.”
Hu will also attend the UN Security Council Summit on Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament on the 24th, the first summit on this issue since the establishment of the UN Security Council.
On September 12, the US submitted a draft on disarmament to the Security Council, calling on all 15 council members to conduct a debate on this draft. The US holds the present Security Council rotating presidency and President Barack Obama will chair the meeting and deliver his first speech to the General Assembly. The US government hopes that this draft will be adopted by the Security Council.
China believes that the US and Russia, with the largest nuclear arsenals, should take the initiative to substantially reduce their weapons stores first. Since the 1970 launching of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, the US, the Soviet Union, China, Britain, and France among many others have signed the treaty, but that has not stopped such weapons from spreading to non-signers, lately to Pakistan and India. It is thought that the US calling for nuclear disarmament is related to its inability to stop nuclear proliferation. If Iran, North Korea and other countries insist on developing nuclear weapons, it may lead to South Korea or Japan, or any number of other countries demanding their own nuclear weapons in defense.
China’s position is that it is unacceptable that the US should continue to hold a certain number of nuclear weapons while other countries have fewer than the minimum for counterattack capability.