Clinton wraps Asia trip by asking China to buy US debt

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Clinton works crowds to project US 'smart power'
A seasoned campaigner for high political office, Hillary Clinton worked the crowds in Asia on her maiden tour as secretary of state, making good on a promise to reach out to the world. And though she is a tough competitor who narrowly lost the race for the US presidency last year, Clinton proved a hit with many when she showed her softer side. Appearing at a university campus in Tokyo, she charmed and inspired her audience with self-deprecating jokes about her rollercoaster public life and lofty talk about the planet's future. In Jakarta she poked fun at her music tastes on a popular TV show and mixed with smiling and cheering crowds in a slum benefiting from US aid projects. Clinton moved an audience of 2,000 at Ewha University in Seoul, the largest women's college in the world, becoming deeply personal at one point when she spoke of her love for her husband. In Beijing she spoke humbly about past US environmental mistakes when she visited a clean-energy plant to highlight the need for international cooperation in fighting climate change. Less hard-edged than she often appeared to be during the presidential campaign, the 61-year-old has basked in the glow of warm contact with private citizens and public officials alike.

Upon meeting Clinton, one of China's top officials, Dai Bingguo, remarked: "And you look younger and more beautiful than you look on TV." She reddened before replying, "Well, we will get along very well." Clinton has signalled she plans to meet as many people as she can, both inside and outside government, in her role as the top US diplomat. She has said the new administration of President Barack Obama is looking to balance military might with the "soft" power of diplomacy and development -- a combination the Obama administration has called "smart power." Her approach so far has stood in contrast to that of her predecessor Condoleezza Rice, an academic whose public persona on overseas trips was more reserved. She says she wants to repair the damage to America's image abroad after eight years under George W. Bush, although she does not mention the former president by name. "I really believe that it's that kind of outreach that we have to do everywhere... there's a real hunger for the United States to be present again," Clinton told reporters travelling along on her Asian tour.

"People still really want to like America and they want to know what we're doing," she said. In Indonesia she connected with a population fascinated by Obama, who spent four years of his childhood in Jakarta. On popular television show "Dahsyat" (Awesome), Clinton caused a stir among the young guests when she started off with: "I was just speaking to President Obama." Members of the audience, their eyes lighting up and voices rising with excitement at the comment, later wanted to know her tastes in music. When she replied that she likes "old standbys" from the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, the audience applauded and cheered. "I don't feel so old," she gushed. She also complimented her audience by pointing out how Indonesia had changed over the years to become a place where "democracy, Islam and modernity" thrive. It was a clear indication of how the new administration wants to promote Indonesia as a model for other Muslim countries with which Obama seeks a "new way forward" based on mutual interests and respect. Clinton also spoke about the "struggle" against terrorism, discarding the "war on terror" language used by the Bush administration. In Tokyo she used a visit to a Shinto shrine to promote the Obama administration's push for more "balance and harmony" in US foreign policy. She also drew praise by promoting women's rights on the tour. During a meeting with Chinese women's activists, one said, "I personally think you are a wonderful representative of the best women on this earth."

by Staff Writers
Beijing (AFP) Feb 22, 2009
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Sunday urged China to keep buying US debt as she wrapped up her first overseas trip, during which she agreed to work closely with Beijing on the financial crisis.

Clinton made the plea shortly before leaving China, the final stop on a four-nation Asian tour that also took her to Japan, Indonesia and South Korea, where she worked the crowds to try to restore America's standing abroad.

In Beijing, she called on Chinese authorities to continue buying US Treasuries, saying it would help jumpstart the flagging US economy and stimulate imports of Chinese goods.

"By continuing to support American Treasury instruments the Chinese are recognising our interconnection. We are truly going to rise or fall together," Clinton said at the US embassy here.

Clinton had sought to focus on economic and environmental issues in Beijing, saying Washington's concerns about the human rights situation in China should not be a distraction from those vital matters.

Beijing's human rights record emerged nonetheless as an issue, as dissidents on Saturday reported being harassed or intimidated by Chinese authorities in a bid to stop them speaking out or meeting Clinton while she was here.

"Plainclothes police blocked me from leaving my home. They were afraid I would try to meet with Hillary Clinton or others in her delegation," democracy campaigner Jiang Qisheng told AFP by phone on Sunday.

Clinton and Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi largely agreed to disagree on human rights as they pledged future joint action on the economy and climate change.

The goodwill, also on display in her talks with President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao, could raise hope for a new era of cooperation between the two largest greenhouse gas emitters and two of the world's top three economies.

"Now it is more important than any time in the past to deepen and develop China-US relations amid the spreading financial crisis and increasing global challenges," Hu told Clinton, according to state media.

Clinton began her day Sunday by attending a Protestant church service in western Beijing at which an AFP journalist saw plainclothes police taking away some visitors who attempted to enter the church.

Their identities could not be confirmed.

Later, Clinton met Chinese women's rights advocates at the US embassy but continued to steer clear of speaking on contentious human rights issues.

Instead, while taping an interview on a Chinese talk show, she focused on the need for China to help finance the massive 787-billion-dollar US economic stimulus plan by continuing to buy US Treasuries.

"We have to incur more debt. It would not be in China's interest if we were unable to get our economy moving again," Clinton said.

"The US needs the investment in Treasury bonds to shore up its economy to continue to buy Chinese products."

The US secretary of state had said on Saturday after meetings with China's leaders that Beijing expressed continued confidence in US Treasury bonds.

China is the top holder of US Treasury bills, with 696.2 billion dollars worth of the securities in December followed by Japan with 578.3 billion dollars, according to the latest official data from Washington.

China's economic growth is at its slowest rate in about two decades as foreign demand for its exports, including in the recession-hit United States, have dried up.

Yang indicated Saturday that China would not deviate drastically from its US Treasury policies, but gave no overt promises either way.

While expressing understanding for the weighty economic and environmental issues, dissidents who reported continued confinement in their homes on Sunday urged Washington to keep human rights on the agenda.

"Chinese human rights defenders and civil society would suffer even more if the international community does not pay enough attention and (place) enough pressure on China," prominent dissident Zeng Jinyan told AFP.

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France in NATO: What would de Gaulle say?

Paris (AFP) Feb 22, 2009
A betrayal of General de Gaulle's independent foreign policy, or a timely rejection of knee-jerk anti-Americanism? France's imminent return to NATO's command structure has triggered fierce debate.

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